Matter Adaptation
by Ramses ll
Summary: "Mommy, I became cotton!" Or: Izuku has a Quirk that enables him to converge his body to any material he touches. Featuring a slightly more confident Izuku, a slightly less abrasive Bakugo, a justifiably edgy Tokoyami, Kirishima - no improvements required - Mina, Hagakure, Gentle, the traitor and many others who deserve more attention (Class 1-B?). Pairing TBD, Rating for safety.
1. Prologue: Starting to adapt

**A/N: Re-written as of 07.02.20; now Beta-ed by RottedKarma and Kamil the Awesome! Without them, this would seem less like a coherent story and more like the babblings of a madman, trust me.**

* * *

**15 May 22XX**

**10:34 a.m. in the Midoriya household**

Midoriya Izuku was confused.

By itself, that wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Being four years old, he had a naturally strong curiosity that frequently left him confused from day to day.

Admittedly, this trait had caused him some difficulties already. Kacchan would probably never let him forget that one time where he'd wanted to test whether bees could be tamed and leashed.

They couldn't.

However, _this_ confusion was special with regard to its source not being some new phenomenon _around_ him, but rather…

"Mommy? Mommy, I'm jelly!"

Midoriya Inko was crying.

By itself, that wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Being someone who naturally turned on the waterworks quite easily, she found herself crying frequently about anything sad or joyful.

However, _this_ crying was special in the way that its subject was not something she'd come across on a daily basis. After all, there's only one time your son manifests his Quirk.

And the fact that her Izuku basically looked like an enormous gummy bear did little to dampen her spirits.

"Izukuuu!" she squealed, scooping up her son and spinning him around in excitement. "That's wonderful!"

Her son blinked in puzzlement, looking slightly dizzy.

His whole body, including his eyes and teeth, was vibrant green and slightly translucent, yet his clothing had remained unchanged. He inspected his hands unhappily.

"What's happening to me?" Even his voice sounded a bit jellylike, if such a thing was possible. "I feel strange."

Inko had to physically restrain herself from fully bursting into tears, just in case this substance reacted with water. Heaven forbid that she accidentally dissolved her Izuku out of excitement. Instead, she smiled and hoped that her smile contained even a fraction of the giddiness she felt right now.

"Everything is fine, sweetie." She crouched down and gently ran her fingers through his unruly, gelatinous curls. "That has to be your Quirk!"

Seldom had the face of her boy lit up like it did now. It made her heart go as light as a feather. "I…I…I have my _Quirk_!" he exclaimed, elation accompanying understanding in the blink of an eye.

Izuku was past excitement and joy, and had arrived in the realms of pure and utter bliss. He had his Quirk. _He had his Quirk_. He had his Quirk, and his four years old mind was quick to draw the conclusion.

Because obviously, having a Quirk meant one thing.

"I can be a Hero!"

Izuku jumped up and down, so full of energy, ready to take on the world…and let go of the sweet in his palm he'd been holding.

Instantly, the green color vanished, and Izuku flopped onto the floor. Then his skin turned into bright, slightly grained wood. The exact wood that said floor was made of.

Inko's eyes widened as she tried to process what had happened.

That… What…

"Iiizuukuu!"

Her voice sounded even higher than before when she plucked her son from the floor and squeezed him tight, making him squeak. "You know what," she said, determined, "I'm booking an appointment with Dr. Tsubasa right now!" Her face hurt from how wide her smile was, little flowers of joy blossoming in her heart to lift her spirit higher.

Her son had not only gained a Quirk, but an ability like _this…_ Admittedly, she didn't fully understand it nor could she trace it back to anyone in her family. It was bound to open hundreds of possibilities to her son.

She was relieved. Izuku was a late bloomer. Most children in his kindergarten had already discovered their Quirks, and she'd grown more and more anxious when nothing had happened. Her son finally activating his own was something she had wished for since the son of her long-time friend, Mitsuki, had developed his Explosion Quirk.

Katsuki had, according to both his own mother and Izuku, become somewhat abrasive lately, viewing his peers as inferior due to being less powerful than him. Still, now that Izuku had a Quirk himself, surely they would grow closer again. She also held the hope that maybe Izuku would be able to mellow the sweet, but slightly brash Katsuki a bit.

Speaking of which, Izuku, practically bursting with pride and glee, had grabbed the phone. He obviously wanted to tell "Kacchan" about his newfound ability. However, Inko had another idea.

"Izuku?" Reluctantly, he son tore his eyes away from the screen. Inko held up his shoes. "How about we go and visit Aunt Mitsuki and Kacchan? Do you want to show them your Quirk in person?"

Izuku's smile was as bright as the sun.

* * *

**11:13 a.m. in the living room of the Bakugo household**

"…and if I let go of it, I instantly get back to normal!" Izuku proudly demonstrated his Quirk using a cotton bag. "I can do it in just a part of my body, too!"

"That's…pretty fucking great!" Bakugo Katsuki's fiery eyes lit up. "Can you do that with _anything_? Like, you think you could transform into a diamond?"

Izuku hesitantly nodded. "Probably. So far I only did it with a WakuWaku and the floor. And the bag of course."

Said bag rested in his arms, looking every bit as unassuming as it was. Izuku concentrated and awaited the tickling but definitely not unpleasant sensation that came with the activation of his Quirk. He had practiced during the drive, giddily giggling to himself while changing between cotton and jelly repeatedly. A moment after, his arms had taken on the exact same dark brown of the fabric they were holding.

"So, you emulate the molecular makeup of the material you touch and then reproduce it in your body?" Mitsuki inquired. Izuku blinked. Laughing, she rephrased, "Your body becomes a copy of the material that you touch?"

The boy nodded excitedly. "I think so, Auntie. Well, I don't know yet if it's as strong as the original is, but…" He pulled at his left arm, and it stretched slightly. "I became cotton!"

Katsuki grinned, his eyes filled with fire. "Alright, Deku! Then you'll become my sidekick when I've got my own Hero agency! Then you carry a diamond with you everywhere and get everyone out of a collapsing building while I kill the villains!"

"You won't kill anyone, brat!"

"Don't tell me what to do, old hag!"

"_Not in this tone_!"

"Shut your trap! I talk how I want to!"

Taken aback by the sudden change in the two Bakugos, with a resigned Masaru trying to reconcile them, Izuku whispered, "Mommy? Do you think they will change, someday?"

"Well," Inko answered hesitantly, "I got to know Mitsuki at college, and she remained more or less the same over the years…"

"Anyway, Deku," Katsuki continued as if he hadn't just shouted at his mother. "I hereby demand you as my future sidekick! So from today on, we'll prepare for our Hero routine!"

"Okay, Kacchan!" Izuku agreed, eyes sparkling with admiration. He felt nearly overwhelmed by Katsuki's change in demeanor. The way he was looking at him and suddenly saw more than just the useless Deku, looking at him with something like _appreciation_, looking at him exactly the way he'd always wished him to.

"Boys…" Inko cautiously interrupted, "Don't you think it's a bit early to…"

"Oh, c'mon, Inko. Don't be such a spoilsport," Mitsuki chided good-naturedly – well, as good-naturedly as Bakugo Mitsuki could get. "Besides, it's not as if they'd listen to you right now."

True. Katsuki had already started to drag Izuku towards his room, announcing that they'd now think up _one hell of a training regimen – and don't be such a crybaby, Deku!_ Inko, suddenly quite tired, rubbed her face. "I can't escape the feeling that this won't end well…" Masaru seemed inclined to agree with her.

"Ah, rubbish," Mitsuki said dismissively. "Don't you remember the bee incident? They quickly stopped making leashes after Izuku came home looking like a bubonic plague sufferer, didn't they?" The blonde woman grinned. "And besides, Katsuki's so fixated on being a Hero, I'd be a fool to try and stop him."

"Yes, but Izuku…he discovered his Quirk barely an hour ago, for heaven's sake!" Inko looked at her friend with worry in her eyes. "And it seems fitting for Hero work, you know? It's a Quirk that _suits_ him and his dreams. And now they want to do a training regimen? They're four…and have somewhat naïve imaginations about how Hero business works, and—"

"No." Mitsuki said in a tight voice. "Inko, they _are_ young, okay, granted. But…well, you probably _did_ notice that Katsuki started to rebel against me?"

Her dry tone could have come off as funny, but Mitsuki's tense posture bespoke her seriousness. "He's dead set on becoming a Hero, and really, why should I discourage him? I wouldn't be able to. The little fucker is as stubborn as they come. Inko, I know you view the whole Hero business somewhat skeptically, but at least in this regard you should try not to patronize Izuku. Let him make his own decisions."

Seeing Inko's hesitance, her expression softened. "I'd never insinuate that you don't want the best for Izuku, Inko. I really wouldn't. But if it turns out that this really is his dream, then _don't sway him away from it. _Support him. Push him, if he starts slacking off! Well, that's what I'd do anyways." She grinned before continuing, sounding a bit wistful. "And I saw that look on his face, too. Every time he starts rambling about Heroes, he just looks so fucking _happy._ When he scrawls his notes in that little notebook Katsuki bought him 'so he would stop plastering his room with these fucking post-it's'. That was so adorable, Inko. I wonder where Katsuki got that foul language though…" Inko wisely kept her mouth shut, but Mitsuki did have a point with what she was saying, as much as the worried mother in her wanted to prove her wrong.

"Anyway, I guess what I wanted to say is that if he sets his sights high, then don't make him look at the ground. Buy him some climbing gear and encourage him with everything you've got." Mitsuki laughed. "Who'd have thought it? I actually did a metaphor. So stop being a worrywart, and get yourself some nachos!"

Inko glanced at the crisps bowl and took a few, though she was careful to avoid the salsa. With the Bakugo family's taste for spicy food, it'd probably be extract from some exotic chili breed she had never heard of and likely wouldn't want to become acquainted with more closely.

Not that the precaution measure would have achieved anything, as the unfortunate Inko learned that the salsa was not the spicy component this time. The nachos were.

* * *

**Upstairs, in Katsuki's room**

"Alright, so at nine in the morning, we both meet at that big cherry tree near the woods," Katsuki summarized, scribbling a crooked timetable on his board. The blonde boy had donned a military-style cap and black sunglasses, thoroughly enjoying his role as _Sergeant K_. "We can take the two extras with us—Fingers and Wings, though they're hardly Hero material. Maybe we should take in one of them as secretary later on." Katsuki laughed.

"You know," Izuku objected tentatively, "they _do_ have names."

"Do they?" Katsuki made a point of exhibiting his disinterest. "I never bothered to learn them."

"Come on, Kacchan. That's mean."

"Oh, please," he drawled. "Fingers got as much character as you'd expect from someone with a Quirk like his, and Wings would be much more interesting if he wasn't so fat that he can barely _fly_. Now stop being such a deku, Deku."

With that topic resolved—in a Bakugo-esque fashion—they continued fine-tuning Katsuki's "HOMICIDAL EXCERSIZE ROUTINE OF EXPLOSION SUFFERING" or _HEROES_ Plan, which had Izuku vibrating in excitement.

Actually, excitement was an understatement; Izuku was delirious with joy. Not only did he get his Quirk (he had a hard time restraining himself from starting to analyze it here and now), but it actually seemed really cool—changing his body to things he touched was something he hadn't heard of before at all.

And, most importantly and the main source of his happiness, his relationship with Katsuki was restored, practically _overnight_, which was something he'd never have dared dreaming of. And he genuinely seemed interested in his Quirk. There was no sign of the conceited bully-like Bakugo; he was almost acting like he did before his Explosion Quirk manifested.

"… and after that, we also have to work on our Quirks," Katsuki announced, scrawling "Quirk training" in three of the six afternoon columns. "When's your doctor's appointment?"

"It shouldn't be long until it's due," Izuku explained, trying to remember his mother's exact words. "Tomorrow or in two days, I think. Mommy said the doctor was curious about my Quirk, since it's 'mutated' or something."

"Alright, Deku. You better tell me what you got from your appointment so we can plan our Quirk training," Bakugo insisted. "But we'll start physical training tomorrow anyway, understood?" Izuku nodded fiercely. "Good, because we both want to go to U.A., don't we?" Katsuki proclaimed boldly.

"Yes!" Izuku squealed, on the brink of tears once more.

"But seriously, quit being such a fucking crybaby, Deku. It's a pain in the ass to deal with."

* * *

**A/N: Alright, this is the first chapter of my first fanfiction. I've been in this fandom for a good while now and decided to try and contribute something myself. I really hope I did the characters justice so far, and I'll try to keep anyone in character. If you find grammar mistakes or typos, please alert (English = not my first language ;-) ).**

**A/N 2: **

**Quirk!Izuku**

**LessAssholy!Bakugo**

**NoBashing (Save for the occasional Monoma or Earlyroki)**

**Altered DekuSquad**

**This story is also about…**

**a) Giving some of the smaller characters the place in the spotlight they deserve.**

**b) Not rehashing canon. In my opinion, that's just boring. I mean, come on! This. Is. Fanfiction. We can do what we want. There's a whole sandbox to play in, so why should we walk the beaten path? If you create an AU, you **_**create an AU,**_** so expect alterations and deviations from canon events and backstories.**

**c) Some chiefly minor OCs, mainly on the Villain side (as we don't have that many villains to work with). **

**d) ****Not**** a quick romance. Romance plotlines are alright, but they can be exhausting to read if poorly executed, and also somewhat impede the main plot if used too extensively. So while I probably will include one at some point in the story, don't expect it in the near future, and don't expect it to be particularly fast-paced.**

**e) No Slash for Izuku himself. Ties in with d), but I want an eventual romance to feel realistic, and I'm not all that experienced in writing slash, so it'd probably feel awkward. Gay characters in general, though? Will probably happen, but not in the somewhat excessive amounts you see in some other fics, which, in my opinion, is a bit unrealistic.**

**f) No. Harem. At. All. There is hardly **_**anything**_** I despise more than blemishing female characters by flanderizing them to the point of ****[insert appropriate label]****. Literally **_**every**_** story I've ever read that had a harem in it was written by authors who did not have **_**any**_** idea about how polyamory works, and as I don't possess sufficient knowledge about it, either, it's just not an option. So much for that.**

**Also sorry for this utterly lengthy Author's Note. Future ones will be a lot shorter.**

**Constructive Criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**So that's it for today, and remember to go beyond ... PLUS ULTRA (sorry, I love that catchphrase)**

**Ramses**

**P.S. Thanks to ILiekFishes for pointing out the problem in the paragraph structure of the dialogue.**


	2. Adapting to the info-dump

**A/N: Beta-ed by RottedKarma and Kamil the Awesome (22.02.20). I cannot thank them enough, but I certainly can try.**

* * *

**16 May, 22XX**

**01:12 p.m. in Dr. Tsubasa's office**

"Peculiar", Dr. Tsubasa muttered, flipping through the files that contained the results of Izuku's Quirk examination. "Utterly _peculiar_."

"Excuse me, Tsubasa-san," Inko interjected. "What exactly do you mean by 'peculiar'? There isn't anything wrong with Izuku—is there?"

"No, nothing like that," assured the doctor. "On the contrary, actually."

He put the files down and looked at his visitors through thick goggles. "Your son developed what is commonly known as a 'Quirk mutation'. You are familiar with that term, I presume?"

Inko hesitated. "Roughly, but could you maybe…?"

"Of course, of course." Tsubasa gave a polite smile. "Surely you know," he began, "that commonly a Quirk will manifest as a version of one of their parents' Quirk, or as a combination of both. The Quirks of the grandparents can play in, as Quirk inheritance runs in accordance with Mendelian genetics, but this mutation is, well, different.

"Your son's genes didn't seem to care much about how Quirks commonly manifest." The doctor shrugged for emphasis before elaborating, "He seems to be one of those odd cases you get sometimes. This," he held up one of his files, "is your family's genealogy, Quirk registry included. 'Protuberance', 'Heat Transmission', 'Pull', 'Uproar'; I could go on for some time. However, none of the Quirks in here fit _his_ in the slightest."

He tapped his chin "Proceeding on the assumption that you were faithful to your husband-"

Inko's expression darkened rapidly, and the doctor quickly backtracked. "I didn't mean to insinuate anything, Midoriya-san; my task only concerns clarification." Inko nodded, lips pressed together.

Tsubasa continued, choosing his words very carefully. "Well, proceeding on… …_that_ assumption, I would conclude that your son developed a completely original Quirk, one that's not related to the rest of your family at all. He is, for a lack of a better work, unprecedented."

"But what exactly can I do with my Quirk?" Izuku eagerly asked. "Can I become a Hero with it?" He really needed to know as much as possible about this. After all, one's Quirk was one of the most important things in their life, and if you wanted to make the most of it, you had to know it backwards, simple as that. He swung his legs under the chair nervously.

"Well, let me explain," said Tsubasa. To be honest, this was one of the more interesting cases he had come across over the last few years, so he was content to take his time. "Based on your examination, we can conclude that your Quirk is a transformation-based type that enables your body to 'adopt' the molecular makeup of anything you touch, with the exception being living things. For example, you could 'adopt' the material of a wooden chair, but not that of a tree that's still living."

Izuku nodded hesitantly. He didn't completely understand everything the doctor said, but he guessed he got the core idea.

"Furthermore, the effect of your quirk is affected to some extent by the state the material is in."

"'To some extent'?" Izuku parroted. Tsubasa seemed to be up to something.

"Well," said the doctor. "That is, actually, the second reason why I think of your Quirk as 'peculiar'. You see, when I gave you a marble made out of tungsten and told you to activate your power, your whole body turned into solid, immaculate tungsten even though the marble actually had a hidden streak of rubber on it. Basically, you were focused on adapting a metal and your Quirk reacted to it – the rubber was assessed as unfit and therefore left out, even though you didn't know there was a rubber streak on it, or that the marble was made out of tungsten."

Izuku felt pretty overwhelmed, but tried to remember as much as possible of what the doctor said.

He should have thought of bringing the notebook Kacchan gave him. Izuku swore to carry it with him all the time from now on. Thoughts were so much easier to contain on paper than having them all pent up in his head.

While he couldn't have possibly guessed about it at this point in time, that vow laid the foundation of what would later become one of the standard works of Quirk theory, a small library's worth of Quirk studies, strategy patterns, costume designs, gadget ideas and other Hero related analysis, all neatly sorted in dozens of notebooks by content, date, and utility.

At that moment though Izuku, who didn't yet have the faintest idea of this oeuvre Pro Heroes would one day pay vast sums to study, felt proud. Proud, because his Quirk hadn't just aroused attention, it was 'peculiar'. It was a Quirk the doctor saw fit to _praise_. A Quirk that just _had_ to be suitable for Hero work.

Izuku would listen carefully.

"But," Tsubasa continued, unaware of Izuku's thoughts, "When I gave you a handful of sand, something unusual happened. After what you displayed before, I expected you to turn into a big block of quartz, which is what sand consists of. However, instead your whole body turned into… …living sand. Little grains."

Inko looked at him in confusion. "Do you mean…"

"It seems as if you, to some degree, were able to influence what state you would transform into." Tsubasa explained carefully. "Presumably it has to do something with your subconscious and knowledge, though this is something you should look into with a specialist. My best guess is that you saw metal as something singular; therefore the condition you turned into was a consistent, singular one, too. The sand, though, you likely saw as an amorphous mass, so the condition you turned into was one that matched that idea. If your Quirk really does work that way, I would advise you to pursue studies in science."

Izuku didn't understand what exactly that meant. He'd have to ask his mother after the appointment was over.

Tsubasa continued, "I would recommend you to experiment with your Quirk, _but!_" he added, seeing Izuku's face light up with excitement. "You must be _careful_. Extremely so. _Do not _attempt anything that has to do with liquids or, perish the thought, _gases,_ before you are _at the very least_ thirteen years old and, most importantly, well informed in chemistry and physics and under capable supervision. Otherwise, you might well risk rendering yourself incapable of reassembling your body. It would be unfortunate to lose someone with your potential."

Izuku nodded, a little intimidated.

"I can, though," Tsubasa offered, much more pleasantly, "give you the addresses of some capable counselors who are better equipped to deal with such an uncommon Quirk than me. What do you say?"

Izuku nodded without hesitating. Inko felt much more subdued, but agreed after looking at her son's determined expression.

* * *

**18 May, 22XX**

**08:56 a.m. at the big cherry tree near the woods**

"About time you showed up, Deku!"

Even though Katsuki seemed as combative as ever, there was little real menace in his voice. He looked just as excited to start the 'HEROES' as Izuku was, and, to the green-haired boy's amazement, had brought some supplies with him.

"Kacchan? What's _that_?" Izuku asked without answering the blonde's 'greeting' — —Katsuki was obviously eager to show off, and Izuku knew better than wasting time when he was about to preen.

And it seemed as if it was perfectly justified, because hanging from one of the lower branches of the cherry tree—

"Is that a _punching bag_?" Izuku was positively flabbergasted. _How in the world did he talk Aunt Mitsuki into buying a punching bag like that?_

"Well, duh," Katsuki answered with obvious satisfaction at Izuku's reaction. "I mean, if we want to be heroes, we'll need to get our bodies in shape! Just look at yourself, Deku."

Izuku pouted, but he knew quite well that no person with functioning eyes would ever describe him as wiry, let alone muscular.

"Okay, Kacchan…and what exactly is _that_?" He nodded to the long rod Katsuki held in his right hand.

"That's my motivational tool, Deku," he stated in his isn't-that-obvious-voice.

"Did you try to 'motivate' Yubi and Tsubasa with that?" Izuku asked, somewhat anxiously.

Katsuki remained silent, though his grin was much wider.

* * *

**16 August, 22XX – four years after HEROES started**

**02:44 p.m. at Utapau primary school**

Midoriya Izuku was bored.

It wasn't that he hated primary school or didn't understand why he was there. He knew everyone had to learn the basics—reading, writing, and arithmetic—and he finished his tasks both dutifully and precisely. But honestly, sometimes school seemed really disappointing to him. Most of the other kids were so… …so slow. He didn't _blame_ them for it; he knew different people had different thought speeds, but that didn't mean it had to be to his liking.

Well, there were some exceptions. Kacchan was great as always, and even better in ignoring the tedium that filled the class after lunch break at the latest. There were also a quiet boy with some sort of fume Quirk and a girl with blue dotted skin who were pretty smart (and appeared as bored as Izuku was), but apart from that…well, suffice it to say that Izuku didn't have all that many social contacts.

"Now you take these five cupcakes over here, and subtract…" Izuku unwound as the teacher turned math class into nap time.

He knew he might regret not paying closer attention later on and genuinely tried to stay aware, but with just ten minutes left before heading to the cherry tree to start Quirk training with Kacchan, he had quite the hard time staying focused, especially after indulging in an online forum about All Might yesterday. The one he'd chatted with apparently didn't need any sleep at all. As a result, it had been far past the scheduled time when he'd finally gotten to bed.

"Midoriya? Midoriya? May I at least ask you to keep up a _pretense_ of awareness?" The teacher stood right before his desk and tried to get his attention.

Izuku yelped and flung back into his chair, bolt upright. "Y-yes, Saito-sensei!" he exclaimed. The class dissolved into giggles.

Saito Inemuri sighed, feeling too old for this job. Way too old. "Alright then, since most of you barely seem to be able to focus on my presence, let alone my words, and considering that classes will end in a few minutes either way, consider this a free period. Just be quiet."

With that said, he slumped over. Maybe he should ask his cousin Shota how he managed to keep his class under control when he wanted to take a nap.

When it became apparent that their teacher was not going to wake in the foreseeable future, the students started chatting quietly. Izuku took out _Hero Analysis for the Future, Nr. 5_, and started comparing the fighting styles of Best Jeanist and Edgeshot.

He really wondered how Best Jeanist would fare against an opponent who fought in armor. He couldn't recall any incidents where something akin to that had occurred, but he noted it down anyway as a potential weakness of Fiber Master–for that matter, why had no one thought of this before? No fibers, no attacking points. On the other hand, maybe it was just difficult to get your hands on an actual armor nowadays. What exactly were the properties a material had to fulfill in order to count as "fiber"? Could Best Jeanist capture someone like Edgeshot if the latter had his Quirk activated? If yes, that'd mean that Fiber Master was able to influence Fibers already affected by a matter-changing Quirk. In that case, he could theoretically…

"Oi, Deku? You started word vomiting again. Shut it."

When Midoriya looked up, the room was nearly empty, except for three worried-looking kids, a still sleeping Saito and—

"Kacchan! You startled me!"

"Well, I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Now get your ass in gear and…" Katsuki looked at the bystanders in irritation. "What the hell are you doing here, extras? Piss off!"

The trio shot him a glare, but left nonetheless. After two years in the same class, most people had learned not to provoke Bakugo. Midoriya was only able to mellow him to some extent.

"You know, Kacchan," Izuku reprimanded during their walk to the cherry tree, "you really should try and break that habit of calling other people 'extras'. They didn't even do anything!"

"_Exactly_!" Katsuki laughed. "Not doing anything is just what makes an extra an extra!"

Izuku sighed. While Katsuki had mostly stopped getting physical (unless provoked), he seriously doubted there was anything that could be done to cure him from his foul mouth.

"Anyway," Katsuki proceeded as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Today, we're gonna focus on your defense. You're still way too slow when it comes to adapting at single spots."

"Yeah," Izuku admitted somewhat sheepishly. "But it's difficult to exactly focus the transformation instead of doing it throughout my body…"

"Oh, _difficult_", Katsuki snorted. "If it's too _difficult_ for you to get some damn iron onto your noggin, you can still quit. Besides", he continued, as Izuku wanted to object, "your Quirk won't be of much use if you can only transform into one material at a time!"

Izuku wanted to answer, but was distracted by a commotion down the street. Izuku's "Hero Radar" deflected–that was definitely a Pro Hero on patrol.

"Hey, Kacchan! Let's look who's over there! Maybe we'll get an autograph!"

"Oh, come on", Katsuki grumbled. "You don't even know if it's a fucking Hero in the first place." However, he still followed the suddenly quite awake Izuku towards the crowd, reluctant as he was.

"Oh, oh! It's the Bamboo Hero, Bamboo Grove! An aspiring hero who saved 14 people during the Balewind incident! Real name: Takeshita Yasashi! Ranking: In the high 600s of the Japanese Hero Billboard chart! Favorite food: Yakisoba! Graduated from Isamu High at age 17! Currently residing in-"

"Oh, shut it, Deku!" Katsuki hissed. "You're seriously starting to freak me out! Let's just get your shitty autograph and…"

Izuku, with the one-track mind of a Hero enthusiast, had already started barging his way through the crowd. He came to a stop in front of the Hero, who wore a bamboo-themed costume, including bamboo bracers and two swords with hilts made of bamboo, bamboo stalks over the ears and a belt with bamboo-like segments. "Excuse me… …Bamboo Grove-san?" he asked and hesitated.

The hero smiled amiably. "An autograph, huh?"

Izuku nodded timidly (Katsuki had to pull himself together to not start laughing at his abrupt change in demeanor). "In my notebook, please?" He opened the book and skimmed through the pages until he'd found the one about Bamboo Grove.

The hero's eyes widened when he saw the detailed notes this boy – who he was pretty sure wasn't even ten years old – had made about him. "You did all this on your _own_?" he asked, flummoxed. Another nod. Then Bamboo Grove gave a high, clear laugh. "You're a fanboy, huh?" he asked genially and took out a pencil (made of bamboo, of course). "Well, if you took so many notes on a small-scale hero like me, who am I to deny you an autograph?"

Izuku beamed as he saw Bamboo Grove's signature right next to his sketch of the hero.

"You know, you seem to have the right mindset for hero work," Grove stated. "Well, good luck anyway! And remember to be on guard; after all, we're still searching for an escaped villain." He grinned.

Roughly five minutes after Katsuki had managed it to tug Izuku away from the patrolling hero, he commented dryly, "You still didn't get rid of this tic of yours to start transforming yourself when you're happy, did you?"

Izuku looked down at his body and realized he had taken on a bright red. Not the natural shade he took on if he was embarrassed, but the exact same red as his shirt. Izuku squeaked and changed back to default mode.

"I didn't do this in front of Bamboo Grove, did I?"

Katsuki just laughed. Deku had started with that shortly after Grove had said Izuku was hero material, but not with his face. That he'd done after their departure.

Not that he planned on telling Deku any of that.

When they arrived at the cherry tree, Katsuki fetched three rings from his pocket, one being made of rubber, one of wood and one of iron.

"Alright, Deku, so here it goes. Today's starting condition is wood. Metal for explosions, rubber for the rod. Questions?"

Izuku just slipped on the rings and shook his head, expression determined. Katsuki gave him a feral grin, and Izuku had barely time to transform his right arm into metal before a barrage of explosions shook him to the core, and left an unpleasant tingling between his ears. Then he quickly adapted rubber in his chest, just in time for the rod stroke, and started to match Katsuki's movements in quick succession, fully concentrated on the material of the three rings and adapting as fast and precisely as he could manage.

An explosion–to metal. And back to wood, as soon as it was over. His shin to rubber, his left hip to metal. Right hip to rubber, left to wood, then his shoulder to rubber, his wrist, too–a tad too slow, Izuku hissed in annoyance when the rod hit his wooden joint right before he could transform it, but quickly shook it off. Katsuki wouldn't stop just because of one mistake.

Two successive explosions, right elbow and left side, a quick stab with the rod towards his stomach, metal, metal, rubber, back to wood. A kick to the thigh, wooden default. A sharp whip with the rod towards his neck, rubber, quickly. A swift explosion to—

"Kacchan! Not the face! We had that!"

"Tsk." Kacchan breathed heavily, dropping the rod while unleashing a salvo of punches, some accompanied by explosions, some without. On the bright side, Izuku didn't have to worry about transforming into rubber. Cold comfort, though. It was more than compensated by the problem that his respond time was suddenly cut in half, as he was to only transform into iron to absorb explosions, not for normal punches. Kacchan became faster and faster, making it more and more difficult to toggle between iron and wood, until—

BOOM!

Groaning, Izuku sat up, only to be intercepted by an obnoxiously mean headache.

"Six…minutes, and…forty-four seconds," Katsuki panted, looking at his wristwatch. "Could've been…worse."

Izuku was proud of his effort, since Katsuki not criticizing something about his form was a rare experience. He himself tried to readjust his throbbing head while simultaneously blending out the upcoming repercussion effects.

This sort of intensive training made him suffer the drawback of his Quirk much earlier. His body had already started to ache slightly, though thankfully it kept within limits for the present time. Apparently, this effect was caused by his body cells having trouble adjusting themselves to constant reshaping, which led to micro-injuries similar to muscle soreness…in his whole body, all at once. It spared his vital organs, which he was quite grateful for.

"Oi, Deku! Get the fuck up, will you? We've got to catch up 'cause of your fanboying earlier, so don't conk out now!"

Izuku sighed, got back onto his feet, and took a swig from his water bottle. As soon as he'd regained at least some of his focus, they both adopted fighting stances and started going through basic katas. Katsuki had joined a Karate club, which clashed with Izuku's Quirk counseling appointment/science class. He was currently trying to beat some techniques into Izuku, often quite literally.

"No, Deku, damn it!" Katsuki erupted. "Do you _want_ to suck at this or are you really that stupid? Your left arm isn't a club. Now stop fucking around! Be more focused. Like this!" Katsuki yanked Izuku's arm strictly forward, then snapping, "And your legs have to be stable, too! If you…glue your feet together like _that_, there's no way in hell you wouldn't fall over if someone shoved you!" He demonstrated that by pushing Izuku in the back, causing him to stumble until he'd regained foothold. "See?" Katsuki asked smugly.

After an hour filled with more katas, reps, two sparring matches that Katsuki dominated even though Izuku managed to get the better of him as soon as he ceased his efforts, running, interval training and another session with the three rings, both of them were exhausted beyond measure.

"You know what, Deku?" Katsuki said between huffs. "You _are_ getting better at this. When we got started, you were a lot less…"

"I _can_ imagine what you want to say" Izuku answered wearily. "Do you want to come over today? We're having Katsudon."

"Of course you have," Katsuki scoffed. "It's a miracle you don't completely _consist_ of the stuff already."

"Maybe I am," Midoriya teased, "and I'm just constantly transformed."

Katsuki smirked. "Yeah, well, whatever. Let's go. Can't say your mother doesn't know how to make the stuff, after all."

As they headed towards the Midoriya apartment, chattering about possible hero names for them—Katsuki despised the idea of "All Matter" and said that Izuku should "quit being such a fucking copycat"—they were completely unaware of what fate had in store for them on that day.

* * *

**A/N: ****So, as you'll probably have noticed by now, Katsuki is a lot nicer in this. That's due to him not abruptly becoming that unpleasant, abrasive guy he's in canon, but developing into it. If you'd change something big (like Izuku having a Quirk) that development would go differently, hence the shift. Though I don't plan to make Katsuki super-nice, just slightly less harsh towards Izuku and maybe a few others.**

**Names: **

**Saito Inemuri: "Inemuri" (****居眠り****)**** refers to the practice of napping in public, literally meaning "present while sleeping". "Saito" (****斉藤****) is the most common Japanese surname.**

**Takeshita Yasashi ("Bamboo Grove"): Takeshita is a Japanese family name. "Take" (****竹****) also means bamboo. "Yasash****ī" ****(****優しい****) translates into "friendly" or "kind".**

**P.S: Takeshita is NOT an OC. The selected few of you who know where he appears may be able to predict which character is going to enter the stage next time.**

**Thanks to ILiekFishes for explaining the problem with Tsubasa's inflationary "You see".**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond ...**

**PLUS ULTRA**

**Ramses, over and out**


	3. Call me Gentle

****Updated on 29.07.19. Thanks once more to RottedKarma for their longanimity in beta-ing this. It's a lot better now, believe me :-)****

* * *

**16****th**** of August, 20XX**

**05:34 p.m. in a side alley near Tatooin Station**

_Ah… u-uh. Who were you again?_

One sentence – one little sentence that kept replaying and replaying in his head as he walked down the street, paying marginal attention to his surroundings.

_Who were you again?_

Numb, apathetic, indifferent, the asphalt under his feet and the walls lining the lane being little more than random objects, being perceived without being processed, just empty husks devoid of any significance.

_Who were you again?_

Yes, who was he? What was the meaning of his life?

_Who were you again?_

Had he so truly and utterly forgotten about his former self?

_Who were you again?_

About the dream he once cherished?

_Who were you again?_

He, who had once aspired to become a man so great that his name would be in textbooks?

_Who were you again?_

Was there truly nothing left for him but growing old, full of bitterness, remorse and regrets?

_Who were yo…_

Then there was the scream.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier…**

"What? What's wrong about Nitro Kill? Short and to the point!"

"Eh…" Izuku chuckled, drawing a glare from Katsuki. "You see, your hero name should be 'a beacon of hope to those who are hopeless, a beacon of power to those who are powerless, and a source of fear to those who wish others harm'."

Katsuki shot him an irritated look. "What?"

"All Might said that in an interview," Izuku admitted sheepishly. "Anyway, don't you think that 'Nitro Kill' somewhat overdoes it with the 'source of fear' part?"

"Tsk. Just because some sissies get sca-" Katsuki's eyes widened as they rounded the corner. "What the fuck…"

In the middle of the alleyway was a person.

A person they'd seen at the newsflash this very morning. A person that'd featured a big caption: _Dangerous Individual_.

His coarse-pored skin was an unnaturally bright yellow, and every word he spoke revealed a flash of pale flavescent teeth. A tuft of grassy hair sprouted from his head, and hints of a heavily muscular build showed through his beige trenchcoat.

He didn't look suspicious at all.

The man had been talking to somebody at the phone, but as soon as the words had slipped from Katsuki's mouth, the villain turned around.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," he said with a strange, squeaky voice that sharply contrasted his masculine appearance. "Duh, I'm sorry, but since I got a chance to get away, I'd be a fool if I just let you peach me, don't you agree?"

No. This couldn't be happening. Of all the streets in Musutafu, the escapee had to cross _their_ path? The odds for that bordered on nonexistent! So, why, why?

"Who the hell are you?" Katsuki demanded, but Izuku knew he was bluffing; they'd seen him on TV together.

"You know exactly who I am," The villain snapped. "I was all over the news, wasn't I?" And apparently, he had, too. "Actually, I have to admit, it's quite satisfying to know that people will not forget the insidious villain Lime that soon." The villain looked at them, his eyes auguring danger. "Don't lie to me, _boy_, I could burn your face off in a single-" He cut himself off with a hiss.

"The villain Lime!" Izuku exclaimed. "That's his name! It was right on the tip of... my… tongue…" He shut his mouth with a click as he realized what he'd just blurted out.

"Deku," said Katsuki with an eerie calm. "Sometimes I wonder how someone with your brains could possibly manage to be such a _fucking idiot_."

The villain rushed in and Izuku screamed, changing into rubber as he remembered the rings he forgot to take off. Lime punched him square in the face and sent him flying backwards, though the blow had been dulled by his elastic body. Through surprise and pain, Izuku noted that some sort of liquid had been splashed onto him.

"DIE!" Katsuki bellowed while Lime was distracted. The surprised villain wheeled around, only to be met by an explosion to the gut. He staggered backwards, a strange smirk on his face.

A moment later, Katsuki screamed in pain as his hands lit up in a torrid, burning, crippling pain. Horrified, he watched at the skin on his palms started to _disintegrate_.

"Raagh! What…"

"Interesting, isn't it?" Lime asked, amused despite the smoking hole in his trenchcoat. "My Quirk is a plant-based one called Lemon. Among other things, it enables me to emit highly concentrated citric acid, which leads to the result you can observe right now. Unfortunately, citric acid does not dissolve certain substances, which is why your little rubber-friend has gotten out unscathed. Meaning I'll have to finish…"

"Leave Kacchan alone!" Izuku punched the villain with a quite literal iron fist, making him hiss in annoyance.

"You are a pesky little brat, aren't you? Too bad you're too weak to deal any actual damage… _right_?"

With that, he casually backhanded Izuku which left him reeling, then followed up with a powerful punch to the stomach that left him on all fours, gasping for breath.

Lime then advanced on Katsuki who was writhing in pain, oblivious to his surroundings and laser-focused on the terrible, mind-breaking, nerve-burning anguish as his hands were filled with fire. In a single swift motion, the villain reached down and grabbed him by the head in an iron-grip.

"I recommend you don't try anything foolish now, boy," Lime said conversationally. "Otherwise, I might have to…"

"GO TO HELL!" Lime's arm jerked upwards as Katsuki hit it from below. The boy then backed off as the irate villain delivered a kick towards the point where he'd stood moments earlier.

Lime was steadily annoyed. He didn't have much time left before a patrolling hero was on location, especially after the boys' screams. No more gimmickry now.

"You know," said Lime with a frosty smile, "A plethora of lemon trees actually have thorns." From his hands arose two arm-length wooden batons, crooked and gnarled, but with long, dangerous-looking spikes.

"**_Acantha Strike!_**"

Faster than they could comprehend, Lime was between the two boys, bringing the rods down on them without hesitation.

CLANG!

BOOM!

To say that the three were surprised would be an understatement. Izuku had reflexively changed the top of his head into metal. Katsuki on the other hand had shielded himself with an explosion – but damn, it _hurt_! Blood dripped from his hands, a good part of skin etched away.

"You are quite the obnoxious brats, aren't you?" snarled Lime. With that, the fight continued.

Izuku and Katsuki were defending themselves to the best of their abilities, moving in sync like they'd practiced, but they were still just nine years old, not to mention wounded and exhausted from their previous training. And Lime was an experienced fighter whose desperation only made him all the more dangerous.

The "fight" barely lasted half a minute.

The two boys laid on their backs, constrained by spiky vines and barely conscious. Lime stood on top of them, his hands dripping with acid.

"Now, rubber-runt, you will be nice and change back, otherwise I will burn your little friend's eyes out. Be a good boy and-"

Suddenly, the villain was yanked back from the kids, and a voice declared:

"**Gently Sandwich!"**

With that, Lime suddenly found himself suppressed by an immense load weighing him down, heavy like a pile of rocks – except that it seemed as if it was nothing but _air_ that was pushing him to the ground.

"Sandwiches are supposed to be light and refined foods. As much as I dislike piling that many layers on it, I suppose it was necessary."

Everyone in the small alley looked at the young, silver-haired man who had seemingly appeared out of thin air, _somehow_ suppressing the anguished-looking Lime who had started to secrete a small puddle of acid around himself.

"I must ask you to stop with this immediately", the man chided, as the pavement slowly started to corrode. "While I abhor violence, I will not hesitate to take action if you decide to push your luck."

"A-are you a hero?" asked Izuku. "P-please, K-kacchan is injured and…"

"I'm afraid I am no hero," the man interrupted. "Actually… I am not even sure why I intervened. How… unusual."

Katsuki grimaced in pain along with Lime. Apparently, the citric acid had started to affect the villain's own skin.

The man startled, and began to remove the vines from the boys' bodies. He simply did that by pulling on them, making them stretch as if made of rubber. After they were freed, he explained: "Takeshita should be here soon. He will make sure you receive medical attention. Anyways, I…"

"But why aren't you a hero, mister?" Izuku himself didn't know why he asked that question instead of worrying about Kacchan, thanking their savior, or freaking out about being attacked by a villain, he really didn't, but the man stiffened as soon as it had left his mouth. Apparently, he'd struck a chord.

"I'm afraid it's because I'm simply not cut out for the profession," the man wistfully explained. "I had my chance, and I failed."

Danjuro really tried not to sound bitter in front of the small boy before him, but after what Takeshita said…

_Who were you again?_

No. He simply _couldn't_ _afford_ to wallow in self-pity now. He'd saved these two boys in a truly gentlemanly fashion. Therefore, he needed to ensure that they were all right. So he pushed aside the memories and got to work.

Taking out a handkerchief, he carefully dabbed at the green-haired boy's face, as well as the other's hands. He had to act quickly; the heroes would arrive any moment now, and it would be seriously troublesome if he was found here. He had used his Quirk against a citizen without being licensed to do so, so he'd have to make his exit soon.

But then the second boy said something that truly blindsided him.

"Well, you better try again."

Katsuki had been quiet for an unusually long time, and his voice was subdued. "You got this fucker in a single strike, and he was enough of a threat to appear in the news. So you better…" He looked at him, his expression borderline furious. "So you better become a hero! What's with the fucking around? 'Not cut out for the profession', my ass!"

_Of course_, Izuku realized. Katsuki was _frustrated_. He aspired to become not just a great hero, but _the_ greatest, yet all he got from the fight were spike wounds and shredded skin, while the man who'd taken him out in a single blow proclaimed himself lacking.

"I am afraid I must depart now. The villain has lost consciousness, but even if he did not, he still would not be in any condition to pose a danger to you."

Contradictory to his distant and borderline callous words, Danjuro was deeply shaken. He had sworn to himself years ago to never hope again. He'd been ready to fall into deep despair after realizing Takeshita had forgotten him. Yet still those two little boys _looked up_ to him, their eyes shining with the same light that Danjuro's own once used to when he saw a hero. The first one fiery and defiant, the second one awestruck and filled with determination.

Could he really allow himself to… give his dream another try?

"What's your name?", Izuku blurted out. At least that he needed to know.

Memories, suddenly much more vivid and less melancholy. A tiny, tiny smile crept on his face. "Call me… Gentle."

**Simultaneously, in another place…**

The door collapsed into a puddle of molten metal, opening the registry to the intruder. The cannon fodder had fulfilled its purpose and lured the heroes away from the registry. Now was the time for swiftness.

Smiling and humming a little tune, the trespasser glanced around the gigantic room, dissected by dozens of racks filled with file cabinets. Swiftly, she crossed the room and scoured the cabinets. _There_. Delight rushed through her body; she could _feel_ it, hot and burning like magma under her skin. She stopped.

The cabinet did not differ from any of the surrounding ones, but she knew she was right. Chuckling, she sorted through the files, her nimble talons no more than brushing each file before going on to the next one. There. There it was, right in front of her. Her mood was giddy, like that of a small child who had gotten her Christmas presents early. Though she was no child, but rather a predator which had finally succeeded in slaying its prey.

She couldn't hold it back any longer; she threw back her head and laughed- laughed stridently and without restraint while the heat finally broke out of her skin, instantly igniting all the surrounding racks in bright, deadly beauty and incinerating everything in sight but the file in her talons.

She left, setting the shelves ablaze left and right, all the while shrieking with laughter until she arrived at the building's roof, where the concrete sizzled under her touch. She forced the heat to settle down – she'd have little use for the file if someone noticed her now – and locked the blaze in her body. Then, she spread her wings and flew into the clear blue sky.

* * *

**A/N. Surprise, surprise! Gentle's entrance!**

**And yes, I am aware that Gentle and Takeshita's encounter actually was two years earlier. But to that I can only say: This is fanfiction! If I change canon in some ways, you gotta deal with it (otherwise, just read the original ****), and tbh, all I did was deferring a minor event to a point in the timeline in which I needed it.**

**Also, as already mentioned, I wanted to focus on some of the minor characters in this fiction. We've already seen a good deal of stories with the core team of Midoriya, Bakugo, Uraraka and Iida, and while that is undoubtedly fun, there are other fictions that already **_**do**_** a great job with them. My DekuSquad will be heavily modified, so consider yourself warned ****.**

**Plus, in my opinion, Gentle is one of the most wasted characters in Bnha, while simultaneously being one of my favorite villains. So let's call this encounter artistic freedom ;-)**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't. But keep those Reviews coming!**

**Remember to go beyond ...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out**


	4. A matter of strength

****Edited 22.05.20.****

****This chapter's readability is brought to you by RottedKarma. They are to be cherished and admired for their patience.****

* * *

**16 ****August, 23XX**

**06:23 p.m. in Musutafu General Hospital, room A217**

"IZUKU!" The famed Midoriya waterworks on full display, Midoriya Inko came rushing into the hospital room and made a beeline for her son. After having gotten a phone call from a policeman, who'd told her that her son had been involved in a _villain attack_… she'd been scared, no, scratch that, she'd been terrified, for Izuku, for Katsuki, she'd been terrified at the prospect of what the villain might have done to them; her mind had come up with dozens of scenarios, each one more horrifying than the previous one, each one prompting her to hit the gas pedal just the tiniest bit faster as she'd made her way through the evening rush hour as far as possible.

She couldn't remember a single thing about the drive itself, had been too busy trying not to panic and let the last vestiges of self-control slip, trying to keep the pictures out of her mind.

The scene that greeted her after she'd finally managed to get past the front desk nurse, scrambling upstairs and begging to all the entities that came to mind not to do this to her and at last burst through the door, dreading what she'd find… the scene had been almost surreal in its serenity.

Izuku – _whole, healthy, bright-eyed _– Izuku sat in a chair, greeting her with a smile that, to Inko, looked more beautiful than all the world. Next to him was a grumpy-looking Katsuki who was seated in a bed, making it abundantly clear to everyone that there were a million places where he'd rather be in this moment, and who unsuccessfully tried to conceal the smile that lit up his face when he saw her.

It was so blissfully _normal_ that it made Inko's heart flutter with relief; her son, the center of her life, her son was _safe_, he would be _okay_, and that knowledge made her feel like an enormous weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.

"Hi, Mom, I-" Izuku was interrupted by a tight hug from his mom, cutting off any attempt at an explanation. "I'm… okay," he wheezed. "Minimal… injuries… I can't… breathe…"

Quickly, Inko let him go, slumping into a hospital chair as her panic gave way to exhaustion. She looked up, straight at her son, taking in the sight that could so easily have been taken from her today forever.

It took a long time until Inko found the strength to speak again, even longer until she actually did, but Izuku was calm, smiled, and waited for her to start talking. "Are you hurt?" Her voice sounded smaller than she would've liked. Too raspy, too vulnerable. "Do you feel alright? Are you in any pain?"

"Er… no, yes, only slightly?" Izuku answered hesitantly. "The doctors say I can go home whenever I want," and at that point Inko could have cried with relief, "but they want to keep Kacchan here because of his acid burns." And Inko's heart froze." "I want to wait _at least_ until Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru have arrived," Izuku added, defiantly, as if fearing she might take him away from his friend now.

Inko, however, could only slowly repeat, "A-acid burns?" She looked at Katsuki, at Izuku, back at Katsuki, increasingly horrified. "K-katsuki… you have _acid burns_?"

Katsuki scowled in irritation. "It's jack shit. Won't even scar, they say, but still want to be completely fucking positive that there ain't any 'permanent damage'." He raised up his bandaged hands in demonstration.

"They're _really_ sure there won't be any," Izuku quickly explained at his mother's horrified expression. "It's just that they don't want to take risks, that's why they want to keep him for observation."

Inko exhaled, all energy leaving her body. They were going to be okay. Both of them were going to be okay.

A few minutes later, Katsuki's parents arrived. They heard them before they saw them; Mitsuki's yelling was nothing if not distinctive.

As soon as they'd entered and made sure of both children's wellbeing, Mitsuki unleashed a barrage of questions on her son.

"Are you alright?"

"What the fu-? Of course I'm alright!"

"How are your arms?"

"There ain't anything wrong about them! Those fucking doctors are just overcautious!"

"Do you want your plush grenade?"

"SHUT UP, OLD HAG!"

"DON'T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, BRAT!"

Somewhere during the quickly spiraling debate between the two (Masaru's attempts to calm them down being more of a ritual than anything else at this point) Inko had started smiling, and her son had, too.

"They won't change, will they?" Izuku asked, looking at Mitsuki pounding her fist against the wall.

Inko chuckled. "I suppose not," she admitted, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence while increasingly violent threats resounded in the hospital's corridors.

Normalcy would set in again, eventually.

* * *

**A while later...**

"Oi, Deku?" Katsuki said. He'd asked for a few minutes of privacy from their parents (to be honest, he hadn't so much _asked_ as he'd _demanded_ it, in a volume that'd surprised even the doctors a few rooms away), and now they sat in the room alone. Usually the mere presence of the other would be enough to set both of them at ease, but not today.

"Yes, Kacchan?" Izuku was careful, as the look in Katsuki's eyes reminded him of his outburst at Gentle, and he knew what it meant.

Katsuki was angry. And it wasn't his usual kind of anger that burned hot, but short. No, it was the rarer, simmering anger that came from the depths of the blonde's heart, the one to look out for. It was the sort of anger that'd burn a hole in his soul if left unaddressed, like something you forgot in the oven for too long.

"We have to become stronger."

It didn't sound like an announcement, or a question. It sounded like a fact. It sounded like it was the one thing in the world that was certain, even if everything else crumbled away.

Izuku nodded.

The silence lasted only a few beats, before Katsuki burst out, "He said that he wasn't cut out for it!" There was some kind of cold, sharp desperation in his voice that didn't fit the eight-year old it belonged to. "And he was stronger than us! So! Much! _Stronger_!"

Izuku didn't say anything. Currently, Katsuki didn't need advice. Katsuki needed to let off steam.

"That guy was stronger than anyone I've met before... way stronger. And he talked about how he'd 'had his chance' or something. I mean… was he at a Hero school or something? And failed? That guy, who took down that villain like it was nothing?" Katsuki became increasingly agitated, talking faster and faster as if his mouth couldn't keep up with his thoughts. "I mean… what kind of competition is that? If _he_ failed, just what kind of shit are we up against?" He looked at his bandaged hands in frustration. "If we want just as much as a _chance_ to get into U.A., we can't go on like this. We have to get stronger. Way stronger. If that's what we're gonna compete with. Got it, Deku?"

Izuku nodded.

"But still," and now Katsuki was quiet. Maybe he'd remembered their parents might hear them if they were too loud, maybe he was simply pensive; either way, his voice was suddenly so low that Izuku had to concentrate on listening to understand him. "You know, Deku… it worked. What we did, it actually _worked_. We were holding our ground against a fucking villain. I mean... we ain't even ten years old, and we're still _alive_ after that! We weren't just wasting our time with that training, Deku. It worked." Katsuki's eyes narrowed as he slowly flexed his fingers. "So, we're going to continue with that. _At least_ with that. After all… fuck, our aim isn't just any Hero school. It's _U.A._ The competition's guaranteed to be even stronger there."

"You're right", Izuku said quietly. "We have a ways to go. We will get stronger, Kacchan! And we will get into U.A. for sure!"

"Of _course_ we will!" Katsuki snapped back. "But… fuck, that was a _real_ villain. That's what we're going to fight if we become Heroes. And… next time we won't have a Gentle at hand."

Izuku nodded. He knew what Katsuki meant. For all his talk about strength and training, and no matter how right he was about how it'd saved them today; in the end, they hadn't stood a chance against a villain. And as children, they weren't supposed to. But they wouldn't stay children forever. They'd grow up. And by then they'd have to be prepared.

* * *

**15 ****April, 23XX – six years after HEROES started**

**03:13 p.m. at the cherry tree**

"… 57… 58… 59… 60." Izuku finished his second set of push-ups and sighed. The weather was unseasonably muggy, and even though he'd barely been at it for half an hour, his shirt was already drenched with sweat, making moving around really uncomfortable. He grabbed his water bottle and took a few sips before getting up and bracing himself for his turn at the punching bag.

"Now DIE!" Katsuki yelled, and unleashed an explosion-fortified right hook that made the poor bag rocket upwards, nearly winding itself around the branch.

They'd had to replace the bag five times by now; this one, custom-made for people with destructive Quirks, had had actually resisted Katsuki for eight months, which really gave Izuku a sense of appreciation for the manufacturer.

"I still don't think that "DIE!" is the best choice for a battle cry if you want to _reassure_ the citizens", Izuku drily remarked. Katsuki huffed but didn't object as he cleared the way for Izuku.

He started with slow, deliberate straight-arm punches and kicks, mindful of how and when his strikes connected. His arms were still sore from the push-ups, so he made sure not to overexert himself as he gradually increased the speed of his movements, still paying attention to the rhythm of the impacts. Control was more important than speed; getting ahead of yourself just meant you were prone to make mistakes you could've easily prevented, which was why Izuku only upped the ante after he was sure his motions were as fluid and precisely timed as he could manage. Two strikes a second became three, three became four, four became five and so on, until he'd arrived at a veritable drumfire of impacts.

It came easy to him by now, a testimony to months of dedicated training exercises, until he'd managed to hit the bag _just right_, dead-center, every time. It'd been frustrating months; his progress had seemed slow to him, and sluggish, until, one day, he'd performed flawlessly. That day it'd hit him just how far he'd come since square one.

Now it was time for the difficult part. Izuku frowned in concentration, reaching for the tickling sensation of Matter Adaptation that slumbered within him. It obeyed without delay, fluctuating under the skin of his fists, while Izuku tried to adapt the material of the punching bag the_ exact_ _second_ his fists connected with it.

In theory, this should lead to his fists taking minimal damage from punching hard surfaces by adapting their material. However, the level of fine-control necessary to pull it off was high; the timeframe he had for it amounted to just a few milliseconds. As a result he wasn't yet able to tailor his Quirk activation to his punches as he'd have liked to, and most of his test runs remained without satisfying results.

Suddenly, Izuku heard a slight shift behind him. Without hesitation he punched the bag again, not withdrawing his fist as his back took on the properties of the resilient material mere moments before Katsuki's strike connected with his rear.

"You're getting better," the blonde begrudgingly conceded. Izuku nodded without relaxing his efforts as he tried to sustain his rhythm as long as possible. After ninety seconds and two more parried surprise attacks he stopped, breathing heavily, but smiling.

"Did it work?" Katsuki asked gruffly.

Izuku nodded, looking at his fist that was indistinguishable from the bag in its blue-black color. "Only once though, but at least it proved that it is possible. " He frowned. "Still, I tried it 314 times, and it worked only once. I'd need a success rate of at least thirty percent if I want it to have any use in training, let alone in actual combat, which means I'd have to get about _hundred_ times better at it to be able to maybe use it while sparring."

"Deku?"

"And that doesn't yet factor in that in sparring my opponent wouldn't just stand idle, but attack themselves, which means I may want to assume two hundred as improvement factor instead, which means it would take rather long to master without being a completely reliable asset in actual combat. There's also the problem that my Quirk doesn't work on living things, so it'd be limited to armored opponents."

"Oi, Deku?"

"Additionally," Izuku continued, picking up speed, "I can't be sure that it is geared for longer fights, since it requires many consecutive transformations, one for each punch. It'd only affect two different materials, so the physical fatigue wouldn't set in that fast, but it'd still limit its overall usefulness and make it more a backup technique than anything else. Therefore-"

"_Deku! Cut it out!_" Katsuki snapped.

Izuku startled and looked up, then sighed. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Katsuki glowered at him. "I _hate_ it when you do that. Where does this fucking mumbling even come from? Somehow I doubt that your mom taught you."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, abashed. "Sorry, Kacchan."

"And quit the 'Kacchan' already. It's annoying."

"You do call me Deku, though, and that's not even nice."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but kept silent.

* * *

**27 ****October, 23XX – eight years after HEROES started**

**05:08 p.m. at the cherry tree.**

"You sure you want to do this?" Katsuki doubted. Not that he'd chicken out of this, but…

"I do. This idea… I think it has the potential to bring me to your level!" Izuku declared with a hint of trepidation, but determined nevertheless.

"In your dreams, Deku!" Katsuki retorted, though he couldn't really bring himself to feel angry at him. If the nerd wanted to do this, he wouldn't be the one to tell him otherwise. It'd make him a better sidekick, after all.

And if Deku's motivation to get stronger was to get on _his_ _level_… ah well, he'd get more realistic one day.

"Right then." Katsuki shrugged and handed over the rubber glove. Nothing special about the thing itself, but it wasn't the point anyway.

Izuku nodded and dripped a few drops of water into its fingers.

"Only a small part of your nail! Remember that, Deku!" Alright, he _was_ a bit tense. After all, this shit could lead to Deku losing his finger or worse if he fucked it up.

"Don't worry, Kacchan!"

"I don't," he snapped, but it didn't really sound convincing even to himself.

"I studied for my Quirk since I was _seven_," Izuku explained resolutely. "I even had additional tuition in chemistry and biology to make sure I don't go too far, and I know how dangerous this is. And you know I wouldn't do it if I didn't feel like I was ready, Kacchan." He swallowed. "And of course I'm not sure. I'm really nervous! But… I have to do this."

"Tch, whatever." Katsuki tried to keep the frown off his face and maintain the façade of indifference, but he didn't think he succeeded as he'd have liked. "Just get over with the shit already."

Izuku slid his hand into the glove. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He took his time for it; any distraction could prove to be disastrous, any mistake might be fatal. He'd visualized every step he had to take countless times, and he did it once more, as he focused on the water in the glove.

Oxygen, Hydrogen. Covalently joined. H2O. Molecules linked by hydrogen bridge bonds.

Water.

Matter Adaptation answered his call readily, and he was careful as he gently coaxed it through his hand, then through his pinky finger.

Only in one tiny bit of his finger nail. Only in that minuscule spot of hardened protein, only in that infinitesimal speck of alpha-keratin, there the adaptation would take place. Only there.

Focus, Izuku.

_Focus!_

The familiar tingling sensation coursed through his veins as the cells in his body, in blatant disregard for the rules of anatomy, reacted to the material and… adapted.

"Fucking hell!" Katsuki whispered, when Izuku doffed the glove.

There it was. On Izuku's pinky finger, the tiniest piece of nail had transformed into water.

Izuku grinned.

* * *

**5****th**** of April, 20XX – ten years after HEROES started**

**2:32 p.m. at Aldera Middle School**

"It's high time now that you all start thinking about your future," Kayaba Tadashi, their current homeroom teacher, lectured. "I'll be distributing your high school choice forms now. This is one of the most important decisions in your life, so think your choice over carefully. Though…" The man then threw the forms into the air in a needlessly dramatic fashion that prompted some serious doubt about his professionality from Izuku's side.

"… you'll probably aim for the Hero course anyway!"

Right on cue the class burst out in pandemonium as every student simultaneously showed off their Quirk in the flashiest way imaginable.

Izuku sighed in resignation and picked up two forms from the floor while transforming his eardrums into fabric, hoping to muffle the sound somewhat. As usual, it had no effect. Due to some idiosyncrasy of his Quirk he didn't fully understand his senses were not hindered in the slightest by his transformations, intentional or not.

Izuku handed one of the sheets to Katsuki, who received it with a smirk that Izuku hesitantly returned as a smile.

Of course the two of them already knew what they were going to write, but that didn't change the fact that this was the very first official step on their way to Heroism. It'd be a stretch to say they were actually _anxious_ about it, but it seemed the slightest bit daunting to him still.

"Yes, you all have wonderful Quirks," Kayaba scolded indulgently (on the other hand, at least he scolded them at all), "But remember that it is still forbidden for you to use them in…"

"Oi, teach! Don't put us together with those extras!"

Izuku sighed as without hesitation the whole class started to shout angrily in Katsuki's and, by extension, his own direction. He made himself a bit smaller and backed away from the blonde's desk, only moments before Katsuki quieted the crowd with an explosion and then proceeded to vocally demonstrate his resourcefulness when it came to the creative application of the Japanese language.

It was kind of impressive just how many insults one could fit in a single statement.

"Ah, yes," Kayaba made an attempt at deescalating the situation. "You two are aiming for U.A. High School, right?"

Well, at least the fucking extras had shut up now. Time for the top dog to lay it out to them.

"That's right," Katsuki stated smugly. "It's the school with the best Hero course in the whole country! Only the best of the best get in at U.A.! The cream of the crop! And that's exactly while you're rabble… or did any of you pushovers actually bother to apply?"

When no one answered, Katsuki smiled sardonically. "See? None of you are Hero material. You don't aim for the top? Then don't bother trying!"

"Come on, Kacchan!" Izuku complained. "Why do you have to make them hate us unnecessarily?" Katsuki just tsked and rolled his eyes.

While their classmates were somewhat salty towards them for the rest of the lesson, Katsuki seemed to have effectively shut up most of the pests disguised as humans.

Needless to say, he was pleased.

* * *

"Alright, now it's official," Izuku cheered when they left class. "We're finally on our road to become Heroes!"

"We were on that road since we were four," Katsuki grumbled, more to keep up appearances than anything else.

"But still! Now there are two forms on the teacher's desk, with our names and 'U.A. High School' on it! Isn't that just amazing to think of, Kacchan?"

"Whatever. It's theory for today, so get on with it while I get some stuff for the old hag."

Izuku nodded and took out _Hero Strategies for the future, Nr. 6_. "Okay, so the first scenario is seven years old. You have a building in which at least five hostages are held, three of them children. The exact number of hostages is unknown. The villains are on the fourth floor, a group of six with one Lightning Armor, two Strength Enhancements, one Good Ears and two unknown."

"Hurry up already, Deku!"

Izuku cut him a look and proceeded: "Your Hero team consists of Ammit, Switch, Bunny Rabbit, Braindasher, Ray and Shikigami. You have an additional 12-man corps of policemen, and the building has two entrances plus a heliport."

They discussed Katsuki's rather straightforward strategy (which had involved just a tad too many synonyms of the word 'die' for Izuku's taste) while heading to the grocery store when suddenly Izuku got a strong sense of déjà vu.

They were in a small alleyway toward the store in a heated debate over Solar Zero's potential in indoor fights, when suddenly _something_ emerged from the drain in front of them.

The creature was a dark, murky green that resembled vomit or mud, with two yellow eyeballs and a grin that showed too many teeth. The creature, which would later become known as the Sludge Villain, swiftly started to envelop Katsuki's body before they could even proceed what was happening. The blonde screamed in fury and thrashed against the sludge, managing to land two solid blows to its face before the villain got hold of his hands and, with visible strain, forced his palms away from him.

The whole procedure hadn't taken much longer than four seconds, and Izuku was left staring at him in shock.

"That body seems to be a lucky strike," the villain said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, it will only hurt for about a minute before I reach your brain and it's over."

The villain was cut off by a fist of solid concrete that connected with one of his eyeballs.

He was forced to back onto the street as a truly furious Izuku started to attack him relentlessly, a piece of asphalt in his left hand.

"LET… KACCHAN… GO… RIGHT NOW!" Every word was accompanied by a fierce punch, but…

_He's liquid, _the clear-thinking part of Izuku's mind realized. _My blows can't harm him!_

The villain sneered before striking him with Katsuki's palm. The boy's eyes widened in terror as Deku hurtled through the air from the force of _his_ explosion, abused in a way that just shouldn't be, couldn't be, forcing him to let go of the asphalt piece.

It was the biggest and most dangerous drawback of Deku's Quirk. When he didn't have anything to adapt, he was completely defenseless.

So when Deku struck against a lamppost and slumped over, Katsuki could do nothing but watch, helpless, screaming against the thick, disgusting sludge that covered his face and started suffocating him.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for today! Next update won't take as long (hopefully…), as it's mostly finished already. Thanks for your support! And patience, I guess... ;-)**

**Keep those Reviews coming! It always motivates me to read your input, and I'll try and respond to everyone****, so if you liked it so far or if you spotted something that could use some improvement, feel free to leave one!**

**As usual, constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond ...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, ****over and out**


	5. A particular proposal

**A/N: 150 Followers! 100 Favorites! You guys rock, just so you know it!**

**This is Beta-ed by RottedKarma, whose patience and accuracy smooths out this **_**a lot.**_

* * *

**5 April, 20XX**

**A few minutes earlier, at the top of a nearby building**

The Number One Hero, All Might, stood at the edge of an apartment tower with a bag of groceries in his hand and a slightly confused grin. Somehow that sludge villain had escaped through the sewers and had actually managed to throw him, All Might, off his trail. On top of that, he barely had any spare time from the three hours he'd left for active duty.

The Hero sighed. If the villain didn't show up in a few moments, he'd have to leave him to his colleagues.

When he noticed an explosion a few blocks away, he instantly knew where it originated from.

All Might prepared himself and leapt over the streets, the grocery bag still firmly in his hand. This evildoer would not taint the town much longer, for _he was here_… having finally reached his time limit.

_Shit._

All Might landed on the roof of a nearby building, changing into his true form. This was bad timing on a whole new level. He muttered a few distinguished American expletives before rushing down the stairs. Part of his brain registered the exhaustion the short sprint had caused him and responded with resignation, but his main focus was on the scene that unfolded before him when he opened the door.

_Chaos_. That simply was the best way to describe it. The Sludge Villain had apparently taken a boy with an explosion Quirk hostage, and the desperate lad fought him tooth and nail, turning the street into a minefield.

All Might – no, now he was just Yagi Toshinori – looked around. Backdraft and Kamui Woods were busy with evacuation, and Death Arms and Mt. Lady hadn't been able to do anything against the rampaging villain due to their Quirk disadvantage.

And All Might couldn't do jack shit.

That was when he spotted _him_. A youngster with unruly green hair and selectively hideous red shoes, who was in the villain's dead angle, struggling to his feet. It seemed that he had been hurled against a lamp post, so the fact that he was able to stand at all was astounding in itself.

Then Toshinori saw his eyes.

And the boy rushed in.

The heroes watched in helpless horror as he ran towards the villain with fierce determination, sticking his suddenly dark grey arm into the sludge and screaming something Toshinori couldn't understand. But the effect on the other boy was unmissable; all at once, his arms were stretched in front of him and he roared-

"REPULSION OUTBURST!"

The explosion that followed was _enormous_. Toshinori's lanky form was barely able to withstand the torrid shockwave that made the windows burst and the tarmac fracture, that took the villain by surprise and blinded everyone.

Everyone, except the green-haired boy who had somehow managed to yank the blonde out of the mud and dragged him away, his expression contorted in decision.

The villain roared with fury and took up pursuit, but enough was enough.

"**DETROIT… SMASH!"**

His forceful blow crashed in the unsuspecting villain, sending him splattering in an omnidirectional wave. The one and only All Might laughed his signature booming laugh, hiding the thin trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth while announcing: **"FEAR NOT, CITIZENS, FOR I AM HERE!"**

A few moments of silence, and then cheering.

"It's All Might!"

"The No. 1 Hero has come to rescue us!"

"We're saved!"

"Did it start raining? It really started raining! All Might changed the weather with a single punch!"

"That's the power of the Symbol of Peace!"

"**HA-HA!"** All Might laughed more boisterously than he felt. **"Thank you all for your support! Now let us collect this scoundrel's residues for that he does not endanger anyone again!" **

As the heroes followed his advice, All Might turned his attention to the two boys, of which the blonde one was currently chewing out his green-haired… friend?

"Have you lost your marbles, Deku? That was fucking reckless! What the _hell_ were you thinking? We didn't practice the Repulsion Outburst at all! So why _for fuck's sake_ didn't you at least try and think of a strategy before rushing in like an imbecile? That-"

"I DON'T KNOW, KACCHAN!" the green-haired boy exclaimed. "I don't know why I did that! I saw you were in danger, right in front of me, and my legs all moved by themselves!"

That piqued All Might's interest.

"You're an absolute fuckwad, you know that? How the hell were you even able to stand up after being thrown against a _fucking lamp post_?"

"**Ahem."**

"I changed the back of my head into fabric. That cushioned the impact," the other boy said defensively. "And apart from that…"

"_**Ahem!**_**"**

Both boys turned around, and suddenly…

"It's ALL MIGHT!"

The blonde closed his eyes. "Aaaand there the fanboying goes."

"All Might? The _real_ All Might? In front of me? Oh, an autograph!" The boy scrambled for his school bag and took out a well-thumbed but obviously cared for notebook_._

_Hero Analysis for the future… No. 13?_ All Might took the book and swiftly scrawled a bold autograph across two pages – nothing he hadn't done countless times already. Still, one simply couldn't fail to note the richness of detail in which the notes were compiled. _Incredible. Truly incredible. How does he know this about Nighteye? _I_ didn't know this about Nighteye, and he's been my sidekick for years! _

_Maybe… he is the right one._

"**Forgive me,"** he said to the boys. **"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I have a proposal for you. Would you mind to meet me at 5 p.m. at Dagobah Municipal Beach?"** After that, the hero was surrounded by fans and reporters, laughing ostentatiously and dropping catchphrases.

Meanwhile, Katsuki tried to prevent Izuku's brain from shutting down… by yelling at him.

"DEKU! GET A FUCKING HOLD OF YOURSELF, YOU HEAR ME?"

"B-b-but A-All M-Might just a-asked us t-to m-m-m-m-meet him!"

"I _heard_ what he said! Now pull yourself together, let's deal with the Heroes and the police and the other shit and… _fuck_!" Katsuki's fist hit the ground, once, twice, his eyes full of angry fire, roaring behind his pupils. "I… I was… I was a _drag_! AGAIN! I couldn't do _shit_!"

"That's not true, Kacchan!" Izuku responded, appalled. Suddenly All Might's words seemed a lot less important, and that meant something coming from him. Really, how could Katsuki say something like this? "There were no serious injuries and the villain is captured, because _you_ withstood him for such a long time! Besides, it was your Repulsion Outburst that vaulted you _out_ of the sludge, wasn't it?"

"He is right." The boys looked in surprise at the two Pro Heroes who had come over, Death Arms and Kamui Woods. "You displayed great willpower, young man," the former stated. "So don't sell yourself short. What do you think would have happened if the villain had been able to use your Quirk against the citizens? You prevented a disaster."

"Additionally," Kamui Woods stated, looking at Izuku, "_that_… that was what I'd call quick thinking. Reckless, granted, but quick thinking nonetheless." He nodded in approval. "Of course you didn't use your Quirk against a citizen, right? So it was quite impressive what you were able to do just by analyzing him." The hero winked.

"Actually…" Izuku started when Katsuki jabbed him in the ribs.

"Yeah, exactly," Katsuki answered with affected vexation. "I did tell him that he was a fucking idiot for jumping into battle like that, too, but I guess everything's all right now, huh?"

The heroes nodded, Death Arms smiling somewhat mischievously, before letting the two boys go.

"_Really, Deku_", Katsuki sighed when they were a fair way off from the commotion. "They cut you a break, and you nearly manage to ruin it! You'd have gotten deeper in the shit for using your Quirk without permission!"

"I'm sorry, Kacchan… but… well…" Izuku faltered.

"What?"

"C-can… can we PLEASE FREAK OUT NOW THAT ALL MIGHT WANTS TO MEET US?"

* * *

**The same day**

**04:58 p.m. at Dagobah Municipal Beach**

Izuku was on edge, subconsciously adapting the rubber of his shoe soles.

"AllMightwantstomeetusAllmightwantstomeetuswhatshouldIdoAllMightwantstomeetusImsonervousohnowhatifwedidsomethingwrongoritwasjustajokenoAllMightdoesntmakejokesaboutthingslikethisbutwhatdoeshewantfrom…"

"CUT IT, DEKU! I'M TIRED OF YOUR RAMBLING SO _SHUT THE FUCK UP_!"

Izuku did slap his mouth shut, but emitted such a fierce worry-aura that Katsuki could nearly _see_ the mutter symbols swirling around him. He sighed in annoyance.

"_**I am here**_**… ready to talk to you two!" **

Izuku yelped, and Katsuki already had an explosion prepared before his senses told him that…

"IT'S ALL MIGHT! IT'S ALL MIGHT! IT'S…"

Katsuki gave Deku a flick on the forehead that likely prevented him from dying of multiple organ failure. He hoped the idiot wouldn't make a habit out of that, but knew it was probably in vain.

"**It indeed is me! Now then…"**

All Might vanished in a puff of smoke and was replaced by a gaunt man with skeleton-like features.

"AAH! It's a fake!"

"Who the _hell_ are you? If you're an impostor, I'll…"

Toshinori sighed in exasperation. He should have anticipated something like this to happen. "No, I really _am_ All Might. This is what you could call my 'true form'."

"NO WAY! You totally deflated!"

"Yeah, looks kinda pathetic…"

Toshinori gave them _the look_. The one he'd practiced countless times in the mirror, the intense gaze that instilled fear in the hearts of villains and hope in the hearts of citizens in an instant, the one that proclaimed "I am here!" to everyone who looked at him. It was a reduced version, but it was still enough to prove his point.

"So now that you know about this, I must ask you not to tell a word to anyone. Especially not on social media. Understood?"

"'Course we do," Katsuki scoffed, but was obviously shaken. "So what the fuck does this have to do with…"

"Patience, please." Toshinori braced himself for what he was going to do. It had to be immaculate. "Young Deku, young Kacchan, you see, five years ago, a villain…"

"A-actually my name isn't Deku."

"_And I'm not 'Kacchan', damn it! That's your fault, Deku!_"

"Seriously, Kacchan?"

Toshinori watched the two of them in confusion. So much for immaculate. "Well, then… would you mind to tell me your names?"

"O-of course! I'm Midoriya Izuku!"

"Bakugo Katsuki."

After this gaffe, Toshinori had lost some of his confidence, but nevertheless, he'd made his choice. So he lifted up his shirt and watched the boys' expressions shift from confusion to horror.

"This is an injury I got from an enemy's attack five years ago. It cost me half my respiratory organs and my whole stomach. What you see in front of you is the aftermath that came with the repeated surgeries. Right now, I can only work as a hero for about three hours a day."

"Th-three hours?" Katsuki whispered, unbelieving, not wanting to hear this. He felt like breaking something, or blowing something up, right now, because that couldn't be true, there was just no way, no way that couldn't be true. "B-but… you… you are the Number One Hero! You emerge victorious from every battle! You are the fucking perma-smile Symbol of Peace! Is… is that all just a charade?"

Toshinori sighed. "No. This injury is something special. It…"

"Wait, five years? So… was that in your fight against Toxic Chainsaw?"

Toshinori arched his eyebrows. "You are well informed. But no, a punk like that could never defeat me. The fight was never made public, I asked for that. For the Symbol of Peace cannot be daunted by evil. For the citizens can view up to someone like young Bakugo."

"So…" Bakugo said falteringly "So… so you aren't… what… what we believed? You aren't the glorious victor? You aren't the aim one can set oneself to surpass?"

Toshinori felt like the discussion was not going in the direction he'd planned. "Don't get me wrong, young Bakugo. I _am_ the Symbol of Peace. I _am_ the strongest hero." He looked him straight in the eyes, young Bakugo's expression telling him that he had his full attention. "But I am not invincible; no one is. And the villain I fought five years ago was the strongest opponent I've ever encountered. Even so, in the end, I did defeat him. That villain is gone for good."

Bakugo seemed wary and obviously didn't want to allow the topic to rest, but he didn't probe further.

"Well," Toshinori said, trying to adopt a more cheerful tone. "I did not come here to bother you with my past. I came to ask you a question, and to offer you something."

Midoriya looked at him in surprise. "Offer?"

"Firstly, the question. Do you two want to become heroes?"

"Yes!"

"You bet!"

Toshinori smiled. Firmly, and without hesitation. He was back on track. "Why?"

"I want to become the strongest hero!" In Bakugo's eyes lied justified self-confidence. In his years as a pro, All Might had learned to tell apart if it was based on blustering or on skill. This boy knew about both his strength and his limits. You hardly found that in someone that young. "I'll climb the top and surpass anyone else! Even you, All Might!"

Toshinori looked at him in approval. He couldn't say he was surprised; he had the fighter attitude that was necessary for such an ambition. It would take much out of him, but if he stuck to it, it wouldn't be impossible.

"And you, young Midoriya?"

"I…" Izuku cast down his eyes, looking a tad embarrassed. "I want to become someone… who people look up to. A fearless hero, one who saves everyone with a smile… just like you!"

Toshinori smiled. Now he knew it for sure. He _was_ the right one.

"Then I have one more question for you, young Midoriya."

The boy gazed at him expectantly.

"Would you like to become my successor?"

* * *

**A/N: Well, here we go! Usually I wouldn't have posted so soon, but then I thought "Stuff it! I just got two milestones!". Yeah. That was about my thought process.**

**Reviews: I absolutely **_**love**_** your encouragement, telling my poor soul with way too much time at its hands that there are people who read this and like this, and I **_**will**_** respond to everyone via PM. Except guests, because sadly, that doesn't work.**

**If you didn't know already: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond ...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out**


	6. Entrance Exam

**The one who guaranteed that you're able to read this without throwing up is, once more, RottedKarma. Celebrate them.**

* * *

What All Might disclosed to them that day was going to change their lives. That much they'd known the instant the hero had revealed his true form before them.

But never would they _ever_ have dreamed that something like _that_ was going to happen.

All Might talked for just about two minutes. He explained that his Quirk was named 'One for All' and that it was something passed on through the generations. He briefly mentioned his predecessor, though neither of them had ever heard the name 'Shimura Nana' before. He explicated his reasons for choosing Izuku, namely that he wanted to be the type of hero One for All was cut out for – a hero who saved people just for the sake of it; not to prove himself and not to make money, not for fame and not out of spite.

Izuku was positively overwhelmed. He'd taken out his notebook, furiously scribbling in it every bit of information All Might gave. The Pro Hero – whose true name was Yagi Toshinori, as he'd stated – had watched him somewhat amusedly. Then, he'd asked Izuku if he wanted to inherit One for All.

Izuku accepted without missing a beat.

And Katsuki had stayed silent the whole time.

All Might had praised the good shape the boy was in, stating that seven or eight months of intensive training would probably be enough to make him suited as a vessel for his Quirk (Izuku had agreed in an instant after the hero had explained that his arms could pop off otherwise).

That was the moment Katsuki spoke again.

"I'll come, too."

Toshinori looked at him in pleasant surprise, though the boy's voice was coarse, and his body was shaking slightly.

Izuku looked at him with a sense of foreboding; Katsuki hadn't yelled or cussed in five minutes now. And the seemed to bottle up the anger he usually displayed on the outside. Izuku was overcome with joy after All Might's proposition, but Katsuki was his best (and more or less only) friend. So when Katsuki said he wanted to come, too, he knew he wasn't over.

"Of course you may accompany us, young Bakugo," Yagi stated. "In this case, we-"

"I'll surpass you." Katsuki took a deep breath and looked them both straight in the eye. "That was always my aim. To be better than fucking All Might. So if you have his power, Deku, then I'll just surpass you, too."

Izuku looked at Katsuki in amazement. Had he just... _challenged_ him?

"Actually, I'm surprised that I didn't already go ballistic." Katsuki smirked. "Fuck, I'd probably have, but you talked about your predecessor, eh? And the fact that even _Deku_ hasn't ever heard of her means that she was a mediocrity_, at best_. So Deku, you can get All Might's power for all I care. But I'll still climb the top. I am still going to be the top Hero. I don't need All Might's power for that.

I. Will. Be. Better. Than. You."

Izuku looked at him. In his eyes burned an angry fire, but not the usual one that was akin to a lit fuse; this anger seemed colder and more calculating.

Then Katsuki smirked. A little.

"Seems like I made the damn right choice when I said I wanted you as my sidekick. If All Might acknowledged you and I'd have wasted my time with Wings and Fingers, I'd probably have gone off the deep end."

"Well," Toshinori said, relieved that he didn't destroy the strange friendship the two of them had. "In this case, come to this beach again tomorrow. But I have to warn you; this training will put you through hell. Are you sure you can do this?"

Izuku and Katsuki chuckled before nodding, one determinedly, one defiantly. Two fires.

The right choice.

* * *

**26**** February, 20XX – ten months later**

**08:21 in front of U.A. High School**

Hell had been low-key.

The two of them had spent the majority of the last ten months at the beach, _clearing away the garbage_. That included car tires, microwaves, chairs, beer bottles, something that exhibited an unsettling resemblance to a cartouche, nine sofas, four fridges and a broken van.

For some parts of these, they had had to work together, for others All Might had instructed them to do it alone. Izuku had been positively flabbergasted when he'd seen the amazingly detailed "American Dream plan" All Might had put together (Katsuki had refrained from alluding to the some twenty notebooks he'd filled by now).

When it had come to One for All itself, it had been… anticlimactic. Izuku still felt sick when thought about it.

"_**Eat this!"**_

Yuck. How did that hair taste sour?

But at least he'd had the time to examine the reaction of One for All to his own Quirk somewhat.

For his first test, he'd transformed the bones in his right arm into diamond. All Might had confirmed that even One for All was not enough to break the hardest material found in nature, so it had seemed like a safe start (The diamond needed for this they'd bought a bit earlier. It was a small industrial diamond, and he'd seen plastic toys prettier than it, but it fulfilled its purpose).

As he ascertained, it was not the sort of safe start he'd wished for. While the punch hadn't affected his diamond bones, it had still caused injuries in his muscle tissue.

For the second test, he'd transformed the whole left arm into diamond. That was debilitating, but he'd only dislocated his shoulder, and the punch he'd packed had been quite noticeable. However, he'd realized that the 'Diamond Detroit Smash' ("QUIT THE FANBOYING, DEKU!") had only been around 60 percent of All Might's strength. Apparently, One for All was more suited for an organic conduit, thereby lessening its efficiency if used in 'Diamond mode'. But since Izuku had planned to have both of his arms at his disposal when the Entrance Exam came around, he'd refrained from probing without diamond protection.

"I still don't really get why you want to take the entrance exam," Katsuki said in exasperation. "You had the chance to get in via a recommendation by _All Might_! Why the fuck do you want to try it the hard way?"

Izuku sighed. "Because I don't want to get in just due to the fact that All Might trained me. I want to earn this place by myself. Be honest; you'd have done the same thing."

Katsuki shrugged but didn't object. "Whatever. Let's do this."

With that, he dragged Izuku behind him towards the gigantic building that was U.A. High School. The best, the most elite Hero school in Japan. Their aim since they were old enough to understand the concept of a Hero school.

Izuku was positively awestruck.

"This… is the gate All Might went through when he was a student! The same holds true for Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Gang Orca, Edgeshot, Air Jet, Kamui Woods…"

"Cut it, Deku! You'll be the fucking class weirdo if you don't get your word vomiting under control!"

Izuku nodded apologetically and followed Katsuki into the building. The first thing he heard was…

"Oi, extras! Move it!"

Izuku facepalmed.

"I'm sorry for him. He's a bit nervous, so he kinda lashes out like this. He doesn't mean it!" Izuku apologized and bowed politely before anyone in the entrance hall would start a fight with them.

Before Katsuki could yell that _of course_ he meant it, Izuku tugged him into the auditorium they were instructed to go to.

"Please, Kacchan, couldn't you at least try and be…, well, _nice_ to the other participants? At least one or two of the people you just insulted will probably be our classmates!"

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Tsk. With some of them I wonder why they even applied in the first place. Did you see that squirt with the ball hair? I swear, if he manages to get into U.A. I'll come to our first school day in a pajama."

Izuku sweatdropped. Maybe, just maybe, he'd underestimated the difficulties that came with policing Katsuki.

* * *

**After the written exam…**

"ALRIGHT, LISTENERS! WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY!'"

Silence.

Izuku instantly switched to 'fanboy mode'. "I- it's the voice hero, Present Mic! Of course I know that all the teachers here are actual Pro Heroes, but this is a whole different feeling! I listen to his radio show every week! He…"

"Shaddup. We've been over this!"

"WELL, ALRIGHT MY EXAMINEE LISTENERS! I'M PRESENT MIC AND I'M HERE TO SHOW YOU THE GUIDELINES AND GET YOU ALL _PUMPED UP_! ARE YOU READY? YEAH!"

If he was dejected because no one answered him, he hid it quite well. Present Mic went on in the same style and the same volume, explaining the – quite basic – rules for the Practical Exam. It resembled some old video games Katsuki had brought over to a surprisingly high extent. Suddenly a teenager who was instantly labeled as 'stuck-up' by Katsuki raised his arm and complained about an inaccuracy Izuku was sure Mic had been about to explain. Then the boy turned around.

"And you there, the plain-looking one with the curly hair!" Izuku looked at him, the tiniest bit annoyed. "You've been muttering this whole time! It's distracting! If this is some kind of game to you, please leave immediately!"

Izuku stood up, offended. "I'm sorry, but you were the one who interrupted the introduction in the first place with a question that was _clearly_ about to be answered. Besides, do you really believe anyone in this room is here because they think it's a game?"

Realizing what he'd just _done_, Izuku sat down again and adapted the material of his seat in embarrassment, though Katsuki smirked appreciatively at him.

"NO NEED TO START A FIGHT, BOYS! THE FOURTH SORT OF ROBOT IS A GIMMICK THAT WRECKS HAVOC IN THE CITY! IT GIVES ZERO POINTS, SO WHILE IT'S POSSIBLE TO FIGHT IT, IT ONLY COSTS TIME! MY ADVICE IS TO JUST AVOID IT!"

Present Mic grinned. "THAT'S IT FROM ME! I'LL LEAVE MY LISTENERS WITH OUR SCHOOL MOTTO! THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID: "TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE! FURTHER BEYOND…"

A rush of delight made every cell of his body tingle as he shouted, along with the whole auditorium, U.A.'s fabled catchphrase.

"PLUS ULTRA!"

After the introduction was at an end, the 'stuck-up' came over. "I am here to apologize," he stated, chopping his hands around in some weird motion. "I offended you without even knowing anything about you, much less being in any position to judge you! I hope you harbor me no ill will, though I can understand if you do. Please accept my sincerest…"

"I-it's alright!" Izuku hastened to reassure him. "I was disrespectful, too! I don't hold anything against you!"

The boy sighed in relief. "You have my thanks,…"

"O-oh, of course! I'm Midoriya Izuku," he said. "This is Kacc-" Katsuki's look was deadlier than every weapon Izuku had ever heard of. "I mean, Bakugo. Bakugo Katsuki!"

"Well then, I am pleased to meet you, Midoriya-san, Bakugo-san! My name is Iida Ten…"

"Yeah, well, I'm not" Katsuki sneered. "So do me a favor and bugger off!"

The amount of indignation Iida displayed would've been hilarious but for the sheer embarrassment Izuku felt. "How rude! Why would you…"

Bakugo flipped him off and trudged away. Izuku apologized to the indignant Iida before following Katsuki. "Kacchan, please! If you want me to stop my mumbling habit, at least _attempt_ to not just insult everyone who talks to you."

"Tsk."

"Don't 'tsk' me, Kacchan!"

* * *

**At Exercise Ground B, Front Gate**

Izuku looked over the other contestants. Some of them seemed quite unassuming, though of course he couldn't know what lied below the surface. Some were nervous, others brimmed with confidence, and still others were appreciating the competition.

Quickly he'd spotted those he believed to be the most dangerous opponents – Iida, who apparently had some technology-based Quirk, a girl with an orange side ponytail who seemed really tough, a boy taller than most grown-ups with six arms and a face mask, and a boy with an appraising look and jet-black skin.

He would try to stay away from those. No need to scrap over the targets with the strong ones.

"ALRIGHT, START!"

Everyone looked up in surprise.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? REAL BATTLES DON'T HAVE A COUNTDOWN, YOU KNOW?"

Izuku reacted immediately and transformed his legs into diamond. Fortunately he'd already slipped on the rings, so he didn't lose any further time.

Then, he channeled One for All in his legs and _jumped_.

He realized his mistake quite immediately. Since he didn't have any control over it, he'd blown a crater in the floor that toppled some of the other combatants and was now flying quite high and fast towards the roof of a nearby building. Quickly, he adapted the rubber of his second ring and bounced off of the surface, thereby preventing damage.

Then he got an overview of the situation.

Most examinees were behind him, save for Iida and the black-skinned boy who apparently possessed some type of space-time Quirk, teleporting through the shadows. He noticed that, while a substantial amount of robots were located in the central alley, that was where the mass was heading. _Inconvenient_. He wouldn't make many points there; too much competition. Instead, Izuku jumped from building to building until he was a good way off from the main fight before leaping down into an alleyway.

The situation unpleasantly reminded him of the two villain incidents he'd survived by now, but then again… "Compared to Lime and the Sludge Villain, you're nothing more than sluggish scrap piles!" With that, he charged in. A quick transformation from rubber to diamond allowed him to fend off the rockets a three-pointer fired at him, then to tungsten to endure the heat.

After that, he was among the robots, quickly mowing them down with One-for-All-inducted punches. They didn't stand more of a chance than he had when fighting Lime. But then again, he wasn't nine anymore.

"Alright", he muttered while counting the remains of the robots in the alleyway, "that's seventeen – no, eighteen points. I don't know how many I'll need, but this certainly isn't enough."

So he quickly moved down the street and began to just make his way through the side streets, systematically clearing them of all robots he could find.

"31 ... 32… 34… 37", he huffed, having destroyed yet another robot squad. "It starts… to add up." Quickly, he dodged a missile and evaded a two-pointer's tail, jumped on its back and adapted copper in his left hand, just before slamming it onto the slightly exposed control panel in the robot's "neck". As he expected, it short-circuited and shut down. "39. Progress!"

Moving on, Izuku had just started to ambush two three-pointers when suddenly the ground started to shake.

"An earthquake? No, it comes in regular intervals. Maybe the effect of someone's Quirk? In that case…"

Then the screaming started, and as Izuku looked up to whatever had just thrown a shadow over the alley, he exactly knew why. "The… the ZERO-POINTER? Isn't that a bit too big?"

Izuku wasn't really aware of where he was. He'd just blasted his way through the side streets; he didn't have any idea where the entrance was located. So he just repeated his technique from earlier, jumped on a nearby building and tried to get an idea of the damage.

Which was colossal.

Like a giant behemoth, the zero-pointer moved forward, wreaking havoc on its way and crushing nearby buildings as if they were made of glass. The examinees scattered in all directions, desperately trying to flee the technological monstrosity. Izuku recognized the gate in the distance and got ready to jump when he saw the girl.

She had grey hair and pale skin, struggling as her left leg was pinned down under a boulder. The zero-pointer was only three steps away. And it was raising its arm.

Izuku rushed in without thinking. Again.

_Sorry, Kacchan_. He was on the ground in an instant and dashed in the girl's direction, his leg adapting tungsten, fast, fast! _I can't just watch!_ He kicked the boulder off the girl's leg, who groaned in pain. The robot did another step and prepared for assault. Izuku didn't stop to contemplate. He didn't have a plan.

He jumped. His fist collided with the tremendous robot's metal limb and bore straight through it. He still had momentum. _How? No, no pondering right now_. His left arm changed into diamond.

"_**Diamond… Detroit… SMASH!**__"_

The robot's head was blasted apart. The familiar smell of explosions perfumed the air. Scrap and pieces of iron came down like rain – and Izuku did, too. His adrenaline-fueled mind cleared, and the _pain_ started.

Izuku nearly retched when he saw the state his legs and right arm were in. He had forgotten to adapt diamond in there before charging in, and even worse, his right leg had still been in tungsten-mode. It was bent in a sickening angle.

But that didn't matter anyway because he was currently falling to death.

Izuku's eyes widened. A smash on the ground, now! Diamond, in his left arm! Quick! No… the ground was approaching… too fast… damn!

Suddenly, his fall slowed down and from one moment to the other, the direction he was moving at changed from vertical into horizontal.

Izuku grunted when he hit the ground with still some force, though he definitely preferred this over ending up as a bloody pulp. His mind was fuzzy, and he couldn't make too much sense of the situation.

"Thank you. Your quick acting prevented me from quite a disgraceful demise. I hope you don't mind that I used my Quirk on you to slow down your precipitation." The girls voice was strained, and her countenance was strangely expressionless, her hands draped down in a zombie-like fashion. She sounded genuinely grateful though.

"My name is Yanagi Reiko," the girl introduced herself. "You should receive medical attention. Your injuries look dire."

Right on cue, Present Mic's boisterous voice announced: "ALRIGHT! THE EXAM IS OVER!"

With a bleary look, Izuku spotted a blurred form sauntering in his direction.

"Oh dear! These are heavy injuries. Your own beloved Quirk did this to you?"

Through the static, Izuku heard "Smooch", felt something moist on his cheek and drifted into nothingness.

* * *

**A/N: And that concludes today's chapter!**

**Yes, I put Yanagi into the scene. Why? Who knows? Maybe because she is painfully underrepresented (as is 1-B in general, so expect some more of them in this story), maybe because I like her as a character, maybe because it's plot-relevant at some point… we'll see.**

**Also, The Sinful pointed out that diamond would shatter under the strain that comes with the repeated use of One for All, which is an issue I had, much to my chagrin, completely overlooked. I will make that a plot point later on (read: yet another issue poor Midoriya will have to deal with).**

**Next chapter: The Quirk Assessment Test! World's best villainous misty bartender! Aizawa! And will Midoriya manage to not break his arms?**

**Standard fare: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond ...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out**


	7. Meet your local caterpillar (and doom)!

**If you didn't know until now, RottedKarma is beta-ing this. I cannot thank them enough, but I can try.**

* * *

**5**** March, 20XX – One week after the U.A. entrance exam**

**05:24 p.m. at the entrance of the Bakugo household**

Izuku had a natural penchant for nervousness, but seldom had he experienced the meaning behind this seemingly innocent word as intensively as he did right now, waiting for Katsuki to open the door already while having the letter from U.A. clutched tightly in his right hand. His mother was just as anxious as he was and bursting to know the result, but he and Katsuki had agreed upon opening their letters together. So here they were.

"'Bout time you come along, Deku," Katsuki greeted, feeling slightly tense. He was _sure_ he passed; he'd scored 80 points at least, for fuck's sake, but he wanted _certainty_.

And said certainty laid in an envelope on the coffee table, looking identical to the one Deku had received (save for the address), so he was _somewhat_ impatient.

"This is it, Deku!"

The two of them had adjourned to Katsuki's room because "the moms can wait five minutes longer for our fucking scores." On edge, Izuku nodded.

Their scores. They would make or break them, right now.

Both of them ripped apart their envelopes at the same time, and hell broke loose.

"**I a-" "Greetings, I-" "… projection!" "… young Bakugo…" "… wondering…" "… about your… "… 39 villain points…" "… appear…" "… judges…" "… attitude…"**

After they had managed to quiet their respective holographic screen and their ears had stopped ringing, Katsuki scowled. "We won't talk about this. _Ever again_." Izuku nodded. This was _not_ how they'd imagined the most important point in their school lives going.

"Alright, second try, I'll start," Katsuki decided and activated his projector. All Might appeared on screen.

"**Greetings from the Number One Hero, young Bakugo!"**

"Wait… now that I'm thinking about it – why is All Might in the vid-"

"Shaddup, Deku!"

"**Now you surely ask yourself: Why does All Might appear in your U.A. message?**

**Well, the answer is: BECAUSE I AM GOING TO TEACH AT U.A. HIGH SCHOOL THIS YEAR!"**

"NO WAY!" Izuku exclaimed stunned. "_All Might_ is…"

"SHADDUP, DEKU!"

"**Regarding your score: You managed to destroy 43 robots, racking up a score of 82 Villain Points in total, which is the highest amount of villain points in seven years! But there's more to it than that! You see, the judges of the exam also awarded so-called 'Rescue Points'! For heroic behavior like defending other participants, damage containment and more! Although you are still mostly focused on yourself, you did take heed of your co-competitors and thereby earned 11 Rescue Points, which make you come to 91 points in total!"**

All Might smiled blindingly.

"**Young Bakugo, you passed!"**

Bakugo smirked. "Of course I did." Despite his outward confidence, Izuku could clearly see how his shoulders relaxed in the course of All Might's speech, but decided to keep quiet.

He activated his own projector, somewhat self-conscious. He knew he couldn't touch Katsuki's absurdly high score, but he didn't know the assessment standard, and…

"**I am here… as a projection!"**

All Might's booming voice effectively shushed him.

"**Since you already heard young Bakugo's video, I will get right to the point!"**

Izuku blinked.

"How on earth did he know we would hear them together?"

"Probably 'cause we talked about it _right under his fucking nose_, now…"

"A-and how did he know we would hear yours first?

Katsuki shrugged. True, he did feel a little irritated about being so predictable.

"**Now that you have finished wondering about how I could know this, let's talk about your score."**

Okay. _That_ was just creepy.

"**You, young Midoriya, destroyed 27 robots, earning impressive 39 villain points! But even more impressed the judges were with your decision to help young Yanagi, quickly rushing in… without thinking, huh?"**

All Might laughed boomingly.

"**For your courageous conduct in this dire situation, you were awarded 49 rescue points! That's 88 points in total, placing you at number two in this year's ranking. Young Midoriya…"**

All Might paused dramatically.

"_**You passed**_**!"**

Katsuki cursed as Izuku's eyes started to flood his room, showcasing once more the impressive capacities of the Midoriya tear glands.

* * *

**08:02 p.m. at Dagobah Municipal Beach**

All Might awaited Izuku at the now completely cleaned beach in his true form. The smile he sported was far less impressive than the one his hero form possessed, but to Izuku, it was the greatest smile ever.

Genuine.

He gave him a high five (_All Might gave him a high five! He wouldn't wash hands ever again!_) and congratulated him on passing.

"But, All Might! You, a teacher at U.A.! That's…"

"Wait, All Might? No way! Where?" someone in the distance exclaimed.

"Oh shit. Young Midoriya, repeat after me: Just my eyes playing tricks on me!"

"Just my eyes playing tricks on me!" Izuku bowed apologetically.

Both of them unwound a bit. "Careful, young Midoriya." The boy nodded. "Oh, lest I forget, I was neither part of the jury nor have I told any of them about our relationship. Favoritism and all that. Just to ensure you that it was you, and you alone, who got that place at U.A."

Midoriya nodded gratefully. "T-thank you very much, All- Yagi-san. Though… U.A."

Toshinori looked at him questioningly. "What's eating at you, my boy?"

"Well..." How could he put this without sounding unappreciative? "After I found out you'd be teaching at U.A., I realized that you did that because you originally wanted to pick your successor among the students, right?"

Toshinori nodded. He also now had the faintest idea about where this conversation was heading.

"And… I feel sort of as if I _stole_ those other students their chance to prove themselves to you. You ran over me just by chance, and… during the entrance exam, I used One for All without protection. Just because I wanted to save one person. Not only that…"

"But you _did_ save her, right, young Midoriya?"

Izuku looked up at him, confused. "What?"

Yagi smiled. Again, a scary, bony, off-putting, _genuine_ smile. Then, he actually _laughed_ (coughing up some blood in the process, but nobody's perfect). "_Of course_ you couldn't handle it right from the beginning! You also weren't able to fully use Matter Adaptation when you first got it, right, my boy?"

Izuku nodded hesitantly.

"There we are! As it is right now, you can only do all or nothing. But with continued training, you will be able to use One for All more and more freely. So do not worry, for everything is going to be ALL MIGHT!"

With that, he changed into his muscle form and twisted the drinking can he held in his hand into a spiral.

Then…

"Oh my god, it really _is_ All Might! AMAZING!"

_Shit_.

So they ran away, but Izuku suddenly felt a lot warmer.

* * *

**At a bar, somewhere else…**

Kurogiri patiently watched Shigaraki rant about All Might becoming a teacher. Ever since "Sensei" had brought up that detail, the young man had been in an especially foul mood.

The bartender proceeded to polish the glass in his misty hands with just a little more force than necessary. In all honesty, he could barely stand the unstable villain if he was calm – or what counted as calm with Shigaraki – and was downright repulsed by him if he was angry.

It was not like he had much of a say in this matter. All for One had instructed him to take care of him, and one simply did not turn down All for One.

"Do not worry, Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri was mildly surprised by the cordial tone All for One had adopted. Apparently, he had made some sort of progress.

"Soon, you will be able to fulfill your aim. Not only is our special creation nearly finished, we also have some _promising_ allies."

_Allies?_ Kurogiri's hand moved even faster than before, virtually sterilizing the glass.

"_Sensei…_"

Faced with Shigaraki's petulant whining, Kurogiri found himself lamenting the long-gone days of contently observing his customers, of bar fights he'd end by teleporting the transgressors outside. The days where he would come home and…

Kurogiri realized that the glass would be of little use in the future if he continued tormenting it like this.

"Soon", All for One promised warmly, "you will be ready. Soon, you will annihilate the Symbol of Peace."

* * *

**10** **March, 20XX**

**04:09 p.m. at the Midoriya apartment**

"I'd recommend three smaller canisters," Izuku pondered. "Those big gauntlets will make easy targets."

Katsuki nodded begrudgingly and erased the problematic part. "How far are you?"

Izuku looked at his sheet thoughtfully. "Since my costume will have that special feature, I have to send my sketch in tomorrow. So I'll probably stick with this."

"You still don't want to put in more materials?" Katsuki asked doubtfully. "You could easily fuck up if you forgot something."

Izuku shook his head. "Most of the materials I could add now would only be useful under special circumstances, and I don't want to risk adapting the wrong one in the heat of the moment."

Katsuki shrugged. "Alright." He smirked. "Though your costume did manage to surprise the shit out of me. I mean, seriously, Deku. It doesn't match your Quirk at all!"

Izuku gave him a deadpan look. "I don't want every obscure villain to instantly figure out what my Quirk is. They'll have a hard time with this one."

"If you think so… I still think you should've gone for the lab coat."

Izuku finished his drawing and put it into an envelope. "The lab coat was a close second. Besides, you can't say this doesn't look cool."

Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"Don't do that so much, Kacchan!" Izuku quipped. "One day they'll get stuck and you'll spend your days looking at the back of your head."

"Was that you being sassy, Deku? Quit it."

* * *

**9** **April, 20XX – Day of the U.A. opening ceremony**

**08:03 at the Midoriya apartment**

Izuku had everything packed, his lunch ready, his uniform on, and he was _nail-bitingly nervous_.

He was going to go to _U.A._ right now. It wasn't just a child's dream anymore; it was something _real_. He was about to do his biggest step so far on the road to becoming a Hero, the step that'd bring him closer to his dream than all the ones beforehand. His mother smiled and encouraged him, trying her best to calm him down, but still… it was a bit much.

Aaand he was about to be late.

As soon as he realized that, he snapped out of his stupor. One last time: Pocket tissues? Check. Handkerchief? Check. U.A. ID? Check. Uniform? Check. Schoolbag? Check.

He took a deep breath. "Bye, Mom."

With that he headed towards U.A.

* * *

**08:22 at U.A. High School**

He_ couldn't find the way_. He was at U.A, and he couldn't find the way in this _blasted_ _labyrinth_. _1A, 1A, 1A_…

"Oi, Deku! Over here."

Izuku turned his head around and took a moment to contemplate the concept of irony. He had literally stood right in front of the (suitably intimidating) classroom door.

"'Bout time you come along. It sucks being with this stuck-up and the other extras."

Izuku facepalmed. Katsuki had his feet on his desk, with an irate Iida chastising him for his "unbecoming behavior".

Izuku sighed, took a seat next to Katsuki and tried to reconcile. As soon as Iida had noticed him, he did these weird hand motions (again!) while stating: "My greetings, Midoriya-san! I must acknowledge that I was indeed in the wrong, calling you out like this! You were truly superior, as you demonstrated by figuring out the exam's criteria! Unfortunately, I myself was unable to perceive the hidden grading system…"

By that time Izuku's face had taken on the grey of his uniform, and he hastened to explain that he didn't notice anything when suddenly…

"If you're here to socialize, go home."

…a giant caterpillar appeared in the door.

A few students yelped as it spoke.

Then the most wasted-looking man Izuku had ever seen outside of a homeless shelter emerged from the caterpillar/sleeping bag, sucking out a juice pack.

"It took you six seconds to calm down. Obviously, you all severely lack rationality," he drawled. "I am Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher. So far, I'm not pleased to meet you."

Then he took out a P.E. uniform and stated: "I know it's sudden, but put these on and follow me on the training ground outside. If you're late, you'll be expelled."

With that, the man left.

Instantly, everyone in the class hastened for the door as soon as the shock their homeroom teacher had induced began to wear off. After all, he hadn't specified what exactly "late" meant.

* * *

**Down at the grounds…**

"A QUIRK ASSESSMENT TEST?" the class collectively exclaimed.

"But what about the entrance ceremony? Guidance sessions? We didn't even get timetables!"

Aizawa shrugged. "No time for that if you want to become heroes. If you think this is all fun and games, go home."

Apparently, their teacher was not a fan of lengthy procedures.

"You are familiar with the eight standard gym tests, yes? Softball throwing, standing long jump, 50-meter dash and so on. The country still insists on prohibiting Quirks while collecting the records. That's not rational. Here at U.A., we have a 'freestyle' educational system. That _especially_ applies to us teachers."

In the course of Aizawa's explanation, the students had become increasingly uneasy. _Theoretically_ this promised to be fun, but he talked about it like it was going to be their execution.

"Bakugo. How far could you throw a softball in middle school?"

The blonde smirked. "Seventy-one meters."

"Great," Aizawa said, in a tone that made it clear that he couldn't care less. "Do it again, but use your Quirk. Do whatever you need to, just don't leave the circle."

Izuku looked at him in surprise. Most of these exercises favored students whose Quirks would to some extent increase their strength, speed or durability. This was odd. The range of Quirks in this class seemed to be quite widespread; how was someone whose Quirk made them invisible supposed to compete against Katsuki in a test like this?

The blast from Katsuki explosion effectively grounded him again.

"It's important to know one's limits. That's a rational method to find out what kind of heroes you'll be." Aizawa held up the device in his hand.

"709, 8 meters".

"Awesome!"

"We'll get to use our Quirks!"

"The Hero department of U.A. is great!"

"This'll be fun!"

At the last comment, Aizawa _smiled_.

Instantly, everyone fell quiet.

Aizawa Shota had the most evil smile most of them had ever seen. The aura their homeroom teacher emanated was downright _demonic_. "_Fun, you say_? You hope to become heroes, an aim for which you only have three years to achieve, and you think it'll be _fun_?"

Now the class had started to physically back up, as their teacher's aura changed from merely dangerous to borderline psychotic. "Alright then," he announced. "The one with the lowest score in all eight disciplines will be considered hopeless and be expelled."

At that, most of the students screamed something akin to "WHAAAAT?"

But Izuku had understood it right now.

"Your fates are in our hands! Welcome to hell, also known as _the Hero Course at U.A. High_!"

"But that's not fair! It's the first day of school!"

Yes. That was it.

"Natural disasters, highway pileups, rampaging villains. Calamity is always right around the corner. I'd say that Japan is full of unfair things. Heroes are the ones who correct all that unfairness. If you were hoping to slack off here I'm not sorry at all when I say this: For the next three years, U.A. will put you through the wringer."

The test wasn't fair. It wasn't _designed_ to be fair. It was designed to assess their creativity and flexibility – they wanted to know how well they could use their Quirks in an adverse environment, and if they knew when to drop it.

So it wasn't just the last one who would be judged hopeless. Everyone who didn't show enough potential was out.

Izuku readied himself.

The main problem was that applying One for All would be a no-go, since he still hadn't managed to control the power output satisfactorily. If he used it without having adapted at least something with the hardness grade of iron, he would either injure himself or even risk that his limbs splintered, if he used wood, for example. So he'd have to rely on Matter Adaptation for this one.

**50-Meter dash**

Izuku watched the other students with a hint of unease. His own Quirk was quite versatile, but it wasn't cut out for these disciplines like Iida's Engine or Ashido's Acid.

Never mind! He at least had something that vaguely resembled a strategy (if you squinted). So when he and Katsuki were next, he adapted the rubber of his shoes in his legs in hopes to get a head start, bouncing off the starting block like a… well, rubber ball.

"5.23 seconds" the training robot squawked. Izuku sighed with relief. Not too bad.

**Grip strength**

He knew that some students had Quirks that made this test easy for them, but _come on_! Shoji Mezo had used his dupli-arms to get _540 kg_! Yaoyorozu Momo had actually created a _hydraulic press_ for this test! And, oddly enough, the skinny Tokoyami Fumikage had somehow managed 313 kg _without breaking a sweat_.

Izuku however had doffed his shoes for this one (yes, he knew it looked silly, thank you very much, Kacchan) and adapted the concrete of the floor. Should he use One for All… no, if he rendered his hand useless now he wouldn't stand a chance with ball throwing or seated toe touch. So he just used his concrete-strengthened hand and got 104 kg out of it. That was… pretty decent.

**Standing long jump**

While Izuku couldn't hope to fly past the grove like the pint-sized Mineta Minoru (who made some sort of trampoline out of his hair-balls) or Sero Hanta (who had shot tape out of his elbows to a nearby tree and then hauled it in again while jumping), his rubber technique did serve him well once more, getting something just over four meters.

**Side-to-side stepping**

He wouldn't talk about this. Ever again.

**Ball throw**

Uraraka Ochako's infinity was somewhat exaggerated, but well. This _really_ was her discipline. Also Koda Koji, who seemed to be more on the quiet side, somehow persuaded a bird to fly away with the ball, resulting in a four-digit score.

Izuku had strengthened himself by adapting the material of the floor, but there wasn't much more he would be able to do. So he just awaited his turn, readied himself for the throw… when suddenly his arm changed back into default mode.

Izuku looked at his limb in confusion. "W-what? But… I adap-"

"I erased your Quirk", Aizawa stated tersely. The students were in perturbation almost instantly. "What?"

"Erased?"

"But how?"

"I know who he is! Those goggles! He's the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!"

"Eraserhead?"

"Oh, right! An angler-type hero who avoids the media presence!"

"But what did he do wrong?"

"Yeah, so far it all went smoo-"

"What you are doing is not rational", Aizawa interrupted. He seemed annoyed. Or rather, more annoyed than before. "Your Quirk description states that it is also possible for you to unleash a significant force in addition to matter adaptation. You did not make use of this skill once so far. Take this seriously, Midoriya Izuku." Aizawa came closer and spoke softer. "Your reckless attitude is exactly why I voted for you to get zero Rescue Points at the entrance exam. Find a way around your self-destructive tendencies, or quit."

Meanwhile, the extras were chatting excitedly about the revelation that Deku's Quirk included strength augmentation. Katsuki looked at him intensely. _Don't you dare to fuck up here, Deku! Don't. You. Dare_.

"Wait, so he basically has two Quirks?"

"So manly!"

"That's broken! Physical power and this rare adaptation Quirk?"

Izuku felt indeed broken. This was bad. If he tried using One for All while only having adapted the floor's material, without being able to modulate it… no, that was not even an option, and there was no way he'd be lucky enough to manage it at this instant.

But if he didn't pull it off, Aizawa would be fast to expel him since he hadn't used his Quirk's potential to the fullest, which was what this test was all about. So what to do now? He couldn't fail, not like this! He couldn't have his Hero career cut short before it had even begun!

_Wait_.

Izuku casted his mind back to the first time he'd tried and used One for All. At that moment, he had… yes, that was the solution!

Izuku adapted once more, channeled One for All, electricity prickling under his skin – _only in the finger, only in the finger!_ – and WHAM!

The pain really was nothing in comparison to what he'd experienced at the entrance exam. Granted, his muscles were still ruptured and of course it still _hurt_, but it was only the tissue of his finger, not his whole arm. He deactivated his Quirk… okay, he took it back, _now_ it hurt. The concrete hadn't been strong enough, apparently, and subsequently splintered.

"423,8 meters."

"WHAT?"

"Okay, that's just unfa-"

"Wait, look!"

Aizawa examined Izuku, who clutched his maltreated finger, and raised an eyebrow. "What is this?"

Izuku clenched his fist. "It…" _Quick, a subterfuge!_ "It happens, er… if I use the boost without a material strong enough to back it up. In that case the backlash disrupts the material and I get injured. That's why I only used it in my finger, and only adapted the concrete in bones and joints."

Aizawa looked at him, expression inscrutable. Izuku squinted under his piercing glare.

"Well, then. Next one."

"JUST LIKE THAT?"

While Mineta went for his turn, Izuku found himself surrounded by a crowd of excited students.

"I'm Kirishima Eijiro! Your Quirk is totally manly!"

"Aren't combinations like that said to be really scarce? Damn you got lucky!"

"Indeed, Midoriya-san! You can be proud of your efforts! You will surely make a great hero one day!"

"Weren't you in that one video with the Sludge-"

"ALRIGHT, SHUT IT! GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF HIS ASS ALREADY AND TRY TO STOP BEING SUCH FUCKING LICKSPITTLES!"

Izuku wasn't sure if Katsuki had just reacted on the mention of the Sludge Villain, but he was grateful nonetheless. While he had nothing against his new classmates so far, some of them were pretty… _energetic_, and he had his hands full with Katsuki as it was.

Some students, though, did not participate in the cheering. They were just in the back seats and watched.

**Endurance running**

Izuku most definitely _didn't_ excel in this one. The pain was distracting, and his Quirk could only do so much when it came to endurance. He placed somewhere in the middle of the class (his stamina was decent, but he didn't stand a chance against Todoroki Shoto, who changed his run into a skate, or Sato Rikido, who was _absurdly_ fast after having ingested noticeable amounts of sweets).

**Upper body strength**

Not much to say about this one, though he was definitely better now that the pain had subsided somewhat. Also, there weren't many students whose Quirks supported them here, and changing his body into concrete definitely helped.

**Seated toe touch**

While the bludgeoned finger made this one especially painful, this was a test that did fit Izuku – fabric and rubber were both perfect for the job.

"Alright."

After the last event, Aizawa had them all gather together again and stated: "Since there's no time to waste, I won't bother to explain all of the results in detail. So here's just a list with the final rankings."

The list appeared, and Izuku searched for his name… "I'm _eighth_?"

"Damn, you beat me!" the red-haired Kirishima stated good-humoredly. "Close one, Midoriya-kun!"

Izuku nodded dazedly, glad that he took it so well. Kirishima seemed really likeable and was super-friendly (even Kacchan had only yelled at him two times during the test).

At last place was a miserable Mineta Minoru, who'd started wailing once he'd seen his placement when…

"Also, I was lying about expelling someone. It was a rational deception to bring out the best in you."

"EEEEEEEH?"

"That's unbecoming for a teacher of the prestigious U.A.! We shouldn't need such cheap persuasion methods!" Iida complained.

"Is it? I can still change my mind."

"No!" Mineta shouted anxiously. "We're all perfectly fine with the rational deception!"

Izuku looked at Katsuki, who just shrugged. So he'd figured it out too – as opposed to some of the other students (the invisible Hagakure at place nineteen seemed quite relieved, too).

"Well, then. Go home, everyone. We're finished here. Grab a timetable in the class if you feel like it. Ah, Midoriya? Go see Recovery Girl. It's not going to be easier from here."

After that, Aizawa retreated into his sleeping bag again and lay down in the middle of the school yard.

When Izuku came back, dog-tired (Recovery Girl's Quirk was great, and gross, but most noticeably draining), he was… surprised.

In front of the schoolyard, he found Iida and Katsuki waiting for him, arguing about Katsuki's choice of words, which Iida thought was "improper for an aspiring hero". The indigo-haired boy apparently had waited to ask about his finger and to bring him his timetable, while Katsuki… either he was here because of Izuku, or just because he enjoyed spiting Iida.

Izuku was happy nonetheless.

* * *

**A/N: Longer chapter today, yay!**

**This paragraph will deal with Mineta, and why I didn't make Aizawa expel him. If such content offends you, move on to the paragraph that starts with "Next time". **

**So yeah, I am aware of the popular opinion that Canon!Mineta is basically human scum. And in all honesty, he is a decision on Horikoshi's part I honestly don't understand - not only does he represent the stereotypical, horny and absolutely unashamed anime pervert, but he legit never ever changes his behavior or faces the repercussions for it. Character developement? He don't know her. **

**In spite of that, think about the following: Aizawa stated _explicitly_ that he'd have expelled anyone in the class without potential (something I seized in this chapter), and that wouldn't necessarily have meant "the last one". However, he did not expel Mineta at that time. This leads me to the issue that Aizawa seems to have seen something in him. Well hidden. Very well hidden. And that, actually, is my main issue with stories in which Aizawa expels Mineta after the Quirk apprehension test - it simply does not fit his statement that he wouldn't have hesitated to expel those he believed to have no potential. Therefore, I will deal with Mineta, because I don't necessarily think he's bad to the core, just that he needs some serious work. Splendid. **

**Next time: Midoriya and Bakugo... make friends! (Wow.) Also, Midoriya's costume, and the Battle Trials begin!**

**Keep those reviews coming; they bring mirth and delight into my dull life!**

**As always, constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out.**


	8. Battle Trials: Start

**If you didn't know yet, this chapter is beta-ed by RottedKarma! They're great, seriously.**

* * *

**10**** April, 20XX – first official day of school**

**12:41 at U.A. High School – Lunch break**

Katsuki had successfully managed to blow most of the numbskulls trying to sit with them off, stating that he had little use for extras who just wanted to get to them after seeing their strength.

Deku had fussed about him 'not even bothering to try socializing' and invited the guy with the stupid red hair and that invisible girl to their table. The former was something akin to a social landmine – he got you before you even noticed him, cracking stupid jokes and talking about manliness (his favorite word, whyever) and generally emitting an _insufferable_ amount of friendliness. The latter was more like a conversation ninja – he _knew_ she was there, sitting with them and making her idiotic exaggerated movements while talking in an obnoxious volume, and he_ still_ let his guard down while she somehow managed to be likeable.

He was … _okay_ with them, he guessed.

Izuku was sort of relieved that Katsuki had accepted their classmates to some extent. The blonde had never pulled his punches when it came to their class in Aldera Middle School, and he'd been anxious that Katsuki's irascible nature would cause everyone to avoid them. Thank heaven for Kirishima. That guy was scarily easy to talk to.

"Which Hero is your favorite?" the aforementioned asked, demonstrating his value as a conversation-inductor. "Mine's definitely Crimson Riot! Some say he's outdated, but he became a hero with a plain hardening Quirk as mine, and he's the man I want to be like!"

"My idol is All Might!" Izuku answered brightly. "A selfless, intrepid hero who saves anyone with a smile! That's what I want to become, too!" He chose to let it go unmentioned that All Might was also a skeleton that occasionally coughed up blood like a defect fireplug.

"Yeah, All Might is pretty great too!" Kirishima agreed with a radiant smile. "I still have trouble to believe we'll have him as a teacher in less than an hour! So manly!"

"You know that you made twenty-three manly-allusions in the last twelve minutes?" Hagakure giggled. "But, hey, Bakugo-kun, hey!"

"_What?_" Katsuki's expression promised bloodlust.

"Who do you like best? I wonder!" As Hagakure seemed to be completely unfazed by Katsuki, Izuku pondered if it were just people with zero self-preservation instincts who became friends with him.

"How can you even fucking ask, Invisibit-"

"Kacchan!"

"Invisibinch."

"… Just so you know it, I'm currently pouting."

"He also admires All Might a great deal," Izuku explained and deftly avoided a slap to the back of his head. "We also both like Edgeshot, Snatch and Gen-"

Right then, he remembered again that Gentle a) was not a Pro Hero, but probably something like a vigilante or just a random person, and b) had asked them to withhold his role in the Lime incident.

Fortunately, Kirishima was too friendly to inquire further, and Hagakure was too energetic to ask about a blooper.

While the latter talked about a Heroine named Shroud, who, after a random encounter, had inspired her to become a heroine herself, Izuku thought about Gentle.

He'd never heard anything of the man ever again, even though he'd went through the internet several times hoping to find a bit of information. Maybe he'd just gone back to whatever he'd done before he saved them, maybe he had emigrated or … honestly, he didn't know. He did, however, still admire him; his childlike neurons had branded Gentle as the first Hero he'd ever seen in action with his own eyes, and that it'd been him he'd saved just fueled his enthusiasm.

Katsuki saw it similarly, though he'd blow up his tongue before admitting it.

"I'm sooo curious about All Might as a teacher! I mean, it totally blindsided me when he suddenly appeared on the projector, y'know?"

Hagakure seemed quite vibrant, gesticulating with her whole body (she could give Iida a run for his money) while theorizing about All Might in class.

Bakugo rolled his eyes before starting to pour _ridiculous_ amounts of hot sauce over his rice.

"Dude!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Just what are your intestines made of? I heard it can dissolve your stomach lining to eat that much chili!"

"Don't worry about it," Izuku reassured him. "It's some sort of side effect of his Quirk; it makes him even more tolerant to spicy food than his mother. He'll be okay."

Kirishima looked at him incredulously. "Are you saying _his own mother _fed him that _hellish_… on second thought, I think I don't want to know. Anyways, Shroud … wait, are you _still_ not done with the sauce? Look at your rice! It's nearly as red as my hair now! No _way_ you'll be able to eat this and do All Might's training afterward!"

Katsuki looked up at him, and a feral grin sprouted over his face. "Did you just challenge me, Shitty Hair?"

"Kacchan!" Izuku moaned. "For the last time! Couldn't you at least _give it a try_ and remember _some_ of our classmates' names? We'll train with them for three years now, and probably work alongside them afterwards! There's no reason to make ourselves unpopular!"

"Don't worry! I'm used to being overlooked" Hagakure chuckled, though it contained a tiny dash of sadness.

"Plus, we've only known each other for one day by now," Kirishima added, blissfully oblivious. "I don't know all the names of our classmates either right now!"

"Now will you all _shut the fuck_ _up_ and eat your grub? You're a pain in the ass! Besides, I didn't even ask _one_ of you to sit with me, so whatcha all doin' here anyway?"

Izuku sweatdropped. Obviously Katsuki had decided to just use his usual socializing strategy (if it could even be called one).

"Simple!" Kirishima laughed. "Same hairstyle!"

Katsuki looked at him with his 'are you fucking kidding me?' expression.

"I'm here because Izuku-kun said it would be funny."

The glare Katsuki gave Izuku was nothing short of menacing.

"He was right."

Izuku was only able to dodge Katsuki's fist because the boy had hesitated a split second to decide if he should hit him or Hagakure first.

Truth be told, Izuku had also asked those two in particular because they seemed like they wouldn't mind Katsuki's belligerent attitude all that much.

"Now that I think about it," Hagakure inquired, "your finger is already healed! How'd you manage that?"

So Izuku started to explain Recovery Girl's Quirk with enthusiasm, rushing over the three with his vast fanboy knowledge until Kirishima looked at his clock with a hint of worry.

"By the way, guys, we got twelve minutes left and not one of us has even started to eat yet."

* * *

**13:19 at classroom 1A**

"**I am here… coming through the door like a normal person!"**

Instantly, everyone ceased the chattering and bantering when Japan's Number One Hero, All Might, paraded through the door in the most not-normal way they'd ever seen.

"Oh my…"

"So cool!"

"He… All Might, the Symbol of Peace, is going to teach us! I shall do my very best!"

"He's drawn so different than the rest of us! Makes me kinda jealous …"

"And it's his Silver Age costume, too!"

"I've got three trading cards with that one! This is the very costume in which All Might defeated Crustfall! Its fabric consists of 36% co-"

"Shaddup, Deku!"

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Honestly, it wasn't like it was the first time they got to know that All Might would be a teacher here, so the critters could get a goddamn hold on themselves.

_Kacchan!_

All right, _classma_\- wait, what?

He had developed some sort of Inner Deku?

Fuck.

Anyway, if this happened every time they had All Might as a teacher, Katsuki was bound to explode (Deku had already been grating on his nerves in Present Mic's class, and he'd had ten_ months_ to get used to having a Hero as a teacher).

"**It is indeed me!"** All Might exclaimed. That was the exact same thing he'd said to them at Dagobah Beach. Must be his standard answer for 'It's All Might!'.

"**Basic hero training!"** All Might exclaimed while striking a dramatic pose. **"This class will put you through all sorts of special training to mold you into heroes!"** That was what the _fucking name_ of the course said! The real deal (that'd preyed on Katsuki's mind right from the beginning) was _what they'd do_!

"**No time to dally! Today's activity is going to be…" **Dramatic pause. **"This one! BATTLE TRAINING!"**

Instantly, Katsuki's mood lifted considerably.

* * *

**13:30 at Training Ground Beta**

Of course they were excited. Hell, even he himself, the Number One Hero, All Might, had been excited when he'd put on his costume the very first time.

Good students they would be. A varied mix of personalities, backgrounds, interests, and, of course, Quirks. And most of the students were dressed appropriately to fit those.

While he was aware of the dangers of favoritism, he couldn't help but look out for the two boys he'd trained for the last ten months. The two of them had truly thrived, though he quickly noticed that they were both prone to over-exhausting themselves which had led to reprimands on his part more than once. He'd have to keep an eye on that.

Eventually, both of them emerged from the tunnel, young Bakugo trailing young Midoriya behind.

They were both commanding figures in their costumes, All Might had to admit. Young Bakugo sported a military-style one, with prominent gauntlets segmented into three shell-like objects on either hand, giving off a menacing vibe that fit his disposition rather well… unfortunately.

Young Midoriya's costume came as a surprise though. The boy sported a style similar to a fantasy novel character, clad in black-brown leather armor with golden rims and sparingly distributed green ornaments that formed entwined structures. It made him appear like an assassin from the Pre-Quirk era, especially when allowing for the classic hood and the mask that covered the lower half of his face, both together leaving blank nothing but his eyes. He even wore dark gloves and high boots – there was barely any skin exposed at all. The only thing thwarting the picture was the vibrant green pattern on the breastplate which resembled an atom, hinting at the true nature of his Quirk.

All Might was relieved when the two of them were congratulated for their costumes (despite the efforts young Bakugo made to deter everyone).

In any case, he was a teacher now! He had to make sure they _all_ got the best education he could manage (and leave a good first impression, too), so he broke away from his musings and announced more boisterously than he felt like: **"Shall we begin, my wards?"**

Izuku shivered with excitement. His first Basic Hero Training lesson. His first time in his costume. The first time he'd experience the daily life of a Hero Course student, and _All Might_ as a teacher. What would it be? A hostage situation? Intelligence gathering? Group fights? Deduction training?

"Sensei!" Iida's costume strongly reminded Izuku of another hero. Which one was it again? The engines, the futuristic style… "This appears to be the same field used in the Entrance Exam! Will we once again perform the cityscape maneuver?"

All Might shook his head. **"An appealing idea, young Iida! But in these days, the truly intelligent, outrageous villains appear indoors. Black market dealings, schemes, conspiracies – events far more dangerous than mere robberies or theft. Therefore, today's training will focus on indoor, anti-personnel battles – in groups of two!"**

"Wait – no basic training beforehand?"

"**The best training is and will remain the praxis!"**

Instantly, the class burst into chatter, while some people started getting together in pairs.

"What determines victory?"

"Can I just blow everyone away?" ("Kacchan!")

"Will we be expelled if our performance isn't good enough, like Aizawa-sensei threatened?"

"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?"

"Isn't my cape just fabulous?"

All Might was taken aback at the sheer number of questions raining down on him. Would he have to do this before each lesson? It was like giving an interview… to five parties at once, that is. **"I will explain the victory conditions in a second! Blowing **_**anyone**_** away is **_**strictly**_** prohibited! In my class **_**no one**_** will be expelled – I believe in the determination of everyone who made it this far! The team division is going to be determined by chance, and your cape is indeed highly fashionable!"**

"Pardon my bluntness, sensei, but is 'by chance' really the best way to predefine the teams?"

"But if you're an actual hero, you won't always be able to work with the ones you can cooperate with best, right?" Izuku objected. "More often than not, Heroes have to join forces with random colleagues who happen to be nearby, so the purpose is probably to prepare ourselves for off-the-cuff decisions."

"I see! Forgive my ignorance!"

All Might laughed reassuringly and produced the boxes for the lots. **"Alright then, shall we?"**

Everyone tensed in anticipation.

"**And our teams are the following,"** All Might proclaimed.

**Team A: Kaminari Denki and Bakugo Katsuki!**

**Team B: Yaoyorozu Momo and Mineta Minoru!**

**Team C: Asui Tsuyu and Shoji Mezo!**

**Team D: Sato Rikido and Ashido Mina!**

**Team E: Midoriya Izuku and Tokoyami Fumikage!**

**Team F:** **Koda Koji and Ojiro Mashirao!**

**Team G: Jiro Kyoka and Kirishima Eijiro!**

**Team H: Sero Hanta and Uraraka Ochaco!**

**Team I: Aoyama Yuga and Iida Tenya!**

**Team J: Hagakure Tooru and Todoroki Shoto!**

"**Now for the matchups! For our first round, we have: Team E as the villains vs. Team J as the heroes!"**

As All Might continued announcing the matchups, Midoriya gulped nervously as he met the clinical stare of the Half-Cold Half-Hot user.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it! I know it's more like an intermission chapter today, but in chapter 9 we're starting with _The Battle Trials._**

**Also, Midoriya seems to have made... different friends than in canon! *insert 3* Who would've thought it? **

**Oh, yes. Me.  
**

**Next time: Battle Trials start! A certain bird-headed student makes an appearance! Team Midoriya vs. Team Todoroki - Round 1! ****(Also, some foreshadowing will likely occur.)**

**Remember that your Reviews give me life and motivation (and may cause in me posting the next chapter sooner?). **

**And as always: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.**

**Remember to go beyond...**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out**


	9. Bear witness

**If you didn't know by now: RottedKarma is the demigod who makes my chapters human-readable.**

* * *

**Match 1: Midoriya Izuku and Tokoyami Fumikage as the villains vs. Todoroki Shoto and Hagakure Tooru as the heroes**

Everyone watched in anticipation as Midoriya and Tokoyami entered the building.

"**Five minutes until the heroes set foot in the base!"**

Izuku was tense, not only because his partner seemed to be on an even keel and he didn't want to blow the exercise, but also because of the look in Todoroki's eyes – devoid of any emotion, like a hawk fixing its gaze on a rabbit. It was the epitome of superiority, the eyes of someone who was absolutely certain of victory.

"Well then." Surprised, Izuku glanced at his partner. Tokoyami didn't look at him as he spoke. "We shall brace ourselves for the upcoming storm. What do you propose?"

Izuku blinked. He'd never encountered someone who spoke like _this_. Not even Iida came close.

"Er," he began eloquently, "well, so… your Quirk? What is it? Some sort of strength enhancement, probably, but I didn't really see that much of it. Your skin changed color and…"

"I regret to inform you that you were afflicted with a misunderstanding," Tokoyami interrupted as courteously as possible. "My Quirk is a sentient beast of shadows, dwelling in my innermost part. If released, it is forsooth a force to be reckoned with."

"**You bet I am!" **

Midoriya yelped (He yelped! In front of a classmate! Damnit!) and looked at the creature that'd suddenly manifested between them.

"**Name's Dark Shadow! I'm your third man in this!" **

"Thou art worlds apart from being a man, for thou art not even human."

"**Blah, blah! Spoilsport!"**

Those two were the strangest duo Izuku had ever encountered, and he'd known Katsuki for pretty much his whole life. Be that as it may – now he had a starting point. And he'd literally spent _years_ discussing strategies and situations with his explosive friend exactly for moments like this. So his mind started developing a policy, suddenly devoid of any embarrassment or anxiety.

_My notes on indoor fighting_… Hero strategies for the future, Nr. 4_!_

"Alright! How strong is your Quirk at maximum? Does it have any weak points? Can you two communicate telepathically? How fast is it? Can it change size or shape?"

Tokoyami probably had the best poker face in the world, but somehow his expression delivered the spirit of a raised eyebrow.

Then, he began answering his questions in his quite roundabout way, with Dark Shadow breaking in on him to add something from time to time.

Together, they devised a strategy.

And after that, the match began.

* * *

"**Start!" **

Shoto didn't waste any time in acting. He simply told Hagakure to step back before touching the wall.

Instantaneously, ice spread from his hand, rapidly starting to cover the building and everything in it. It barely took ten seconds before each and every room was coated… except for one.

Shoto frowned. That hadn't been part of the plan. It seemed like their opponents had managed to prevent the bomb from getting frozen, which meant they'd _expected_ his attack to some degree.

Hagakure looked at him (probably). "Now?" Her voice betrayed her dissatisfaction over his solo action, but also awe. Of course.

Since Shoto was sour from _both_ of their adversaries somehow avoiding his attack, he regarded her with a chilling look. "They escaped."

"Ah." Now the invisible girl seemed really annoyed. "Perfect." Shoto was on the brink on losing his temper when he asked, "What do you mean?" through gritted teeth.

"What I _mean_," she answered snippily, "is that either you unfreeze the floor, or I'll have to go inside with shoes on, which would pretty much negate the advantage I have when it comes to getting to the bomb."

Shoto clenched his fists.

She was right.

_That girl_, who – judging by her efforts in class so far – was most likely less intelligent than him by a considerable margin, was _right_. He hadn't shown enough foresight.

Shoto unfroze the floor.

As they stepped in, he explained which room had been the one he'd been unable to freeze while she doffed gloves and shoes. "I'll get their attention. While I engage them, your job is it to get up and secure the bomb."

Hagakure nodded (and said "yes" after Shoto got impatient).

"Good. Then all that's lef -"

At that moment, a dark blur shot towards them from a side corridor, crashing into him and hurling him to the other side of the room.

_Midoriya_?

_But how? He should've been frozen if he'd been so near! _

Then Shoto saw the hole in the ceiling.

_So they_ _made _arrangements_?_

Shoto got up, ready to attack, when he saw the dark-clad boy exchanging quick blows with Hagakure who seemed unable to damage him even with her invisibility. This meant using ice on him wasn't an option – too risky with a naked comrade nearby. So Shoto did the logical thing and jumped at the chance to get up to the third floor, where the bomb was.

After all, he had a special advantage against that particular student.

* * *

**Target Building, the Basement Monitor Room**

"Whoa, that was quick!"

"Definitely unexpected. How did he pull that off?"

"So now it's down to two one-on-one fights? But Todoroki-kun is a monster! I mean, no offense, but do any of you actually think Tokoyami-kun stands a chance?"

"He does." Everyone turned around to Bakugo, who'd answered on Uraraka's question.

"How do you know?" Kirishima asked in surprise. Bakugo didn't seem to be the type of man who said things like that just because his friend was fighting.

"'cause Icyhot and Invisi… Hagakure are suckers for his plan." Katsuki smirked. "If Deku has the initiative, you're _fucked_. And that fight's the damn paragon of initiative. Just _look_ – he's already fighting the more dangerous one."

"What? Hagakure-chan is more dangerous than Todoroki-kun?" Kaminari asked, flummoxed.

"Of _course_ she is!" Katsuki barked content when the idiot shut his mouth. "She's fucking _invisible_ – if they'd let her get away she'd get to the bomb for sure, imbecile!" He looked back at the monitor, where Deku was still in that ridiculous fistfight. "He'll end it any second now that Icyhot's too far away."

"You mean he's _toying_ with her?" Sero asked quizzically. "Doesn't look like it…"

"Please," Katsuki groaned, starting to seriously question this class' intelligence. "I've known Deku since we were old enough for our mothers to arrange it! He spent _years_ collecting all that nerd knowledge in that big brain of his! And we _both_ spent the _same_ years beating the shit out of each other so we could get stronger! No way in hell he'd fight that _pathetically_ unless it's for a plan!"

That shut up the other idiots, and they looked back at the screen.

* * *

**At the third floor…**

The hallway quickly became bone-chilling cold as a now thoroughly annoyed Shoto stopped in front of the second door. Those two actually managed to irritate him. Well, mostly Midoriya – though if Hagakure still managed to detain him, he obviously proved to be less of an obstacle than he'd initially thought.

Anyway, their plan was bound to fail.

Shoto opened the door and stepped in. That was his first mistake, he realized, as soon as he took in his surroundings in the pitch-black room. Their opponents had blanketed the windows.

Shoto got a glimpse at Tokoyami, who stood in the center of the room, before the door slammed shut.

"My regards to thee, hero. Behold, for this shall be thy remembrance ceremony."

* * *

**At the main floor…**

Izuku smiled when he heard Tokoyami say the keyword.

Now he had to be fast.

"**Hydrolysis!**"

Tooru in the meantime was getting frustrated. She was invisible, so Izuku at least had a hard time actually hitting her. But that didn't really matter, as he'd somehow not only transformed his body, but also his _clothing_ into some kind of foam which rendered all her punches useless. And Izuku himself had only used his normal fists – he held back so obviously that she was on the verge of tears.

Then he smiled, and everything went downhill from there.

For starters? Her next punch went into liquid. _Liquid_. She yelped and yanked her hand back, only to have it surrounded by something heavy.

Appalled, she looked at her hand that was suddenly encased in metal – and very _visible_.

Then Izuku's punch hit her – he'd still not transformed his fists, damn it! – and hurled her against the wall. In a daze, she only noticed the capture tape around her arm peripherally.

Izuku sighed and clutched his side while running up the stairs.

"**Hero Team, Hagakure: Captured!" **All Might proudly announced in the background. Izuku paid him no mind. He hadn't heard anything from Tokoyami, and that meant something had gone wrong.

* * *

**At the third floor… **

Shoto reacted quickly. One mental command and ice surrounded him, mere moments before an incredible force slammed into it. He crashed into the door and leapt aside as the same force hit it with an audible bang, then got up and adopted a fighting stance, breathing rapidly. He didn't know what Tokoyami was capable of; he only knew that if he wanted to act, he had to do it now.

"I know your face."

That made an impact. Shoto could sense the moment of hesitation before a giant _something_ tried to grab him, making him stagger back.

"I shall be honored, for someone with a name as fabled as yours to acknowledge someone as caddish as myse-"

"None of that. I know _your_ face. The Shizuoka Seven."

The attacks stopped.

"You'd have been number eight, if not for my old man. I'm somewhat grateful for that incident, actually. I can hardly remember an event that infuriated him as much as that one."

"I must ask you to refrain from pursuing further." Tokoyami's voice sounded somewhat strained. Shoto all but smiled. So he was right. _He_ had _actually_ enrolled at U.A. He would've felt sympathy with him – their circumstances were awfully similar – but right now, it was an opportunity too good to not be seized.

So he continued conversationally, "I wonder how it must feel for you. So many efforts to conceal everything, and then you meet _me_ at school, of all people."

"So far and no further," Tokoyami's voice resonated in the room, somewhat distorted. "I… cannot guarantee… for thy…"

"What do you think they'll say as soon as they find it out?"

"Cease…"

"Give up."

"**Hero Team, Hagakure: Captured!"**

_What?_ _Damn_. If Midoriya came up here, and paired up with Tokoyami's mysterious strength… he had to end this as quickly as possible.

So he crossed the boundary.

"No one will ever acknowledge you again. You will be alone. I'm not even sure if they'd let you continue at U.A. if they find out about this."

"Stop!" Panic. Mild, but panic nonetheless. He had him.

Suddenly, the door crashed open.

Three things happened at once.

First, Midoriya came rushing in, body and clothing transformed into solid diamond.

Second, Shoto created an ice wall to protect himself.

Third, Shoto caught a glimpse of Tokoyami – and ossified.

Behind the bird-headed teen, the shadows _danced_.

It was as if the darkness itself had consolidated and was lashing out with dozens of jet-black tendrils, twirling around and seeping through the gloom. Neither liquid nor solid, just a minatory accumulation of tenebrous appendages, watching them with two threatening, orange eyes.

_That_ was Tokoyami's Quirk?

Slowly, the beast shriveled to a more docile form, while Tokoyami gave him the most menacing, stone-cold glare he'd ever received. Even if taking his father into account.

"Well? Are you still keen to bewray my secret?" he said, his voice making his skin crawl. "Now that you have born witness to my burden?"

Shoto was thunderstruck. He hadn't anticipated anything even _remotely_ close to this.

Tokoyami's eyes went from downright disturbing to a mere unsettling. "Then, shall we proceed?"

Before Shoto could react, a diamond fist crushed through the ice wall and grazed his side. The force behind it was enough to send him back staggering, right in the arms of the shadow beast. Only a quick ice pillar prevented the fight from being over.

Midoriya jumped up to him, faster than he could comprehend. Todoroki was forced to leap down again, where he had to avoid Tokoyami's Quirk.

_This was their plan,_ he realized, aghast. _They created a situation in which I was separated from Hagakure. Then Midoriya waited with defeating her until I was within Tokoyami's clasp, to make sure I wouldn't try and fight Midoriya first. They arranged it so that they hold all the aces. And now I'm fighting them simultaneously._

But he was also inside of the room now. And that meant… _It isn't over yet._

Shoto froze the room as fast as possible. Floor, Walls and Ceiling were almost instantly covered in ice, which made them slippery… and turned the tide in his favor.

While neither of his opponents had been directly hit, their _mobility_ was clearly impaired. Now for the difficult part – Tokoyami's Quirk was wrapped around the bomb. The form was grotesque under shadowy beast, but it was most definitely the bomb, and truly bothersome.

He had to get Tokoyami out of the way.

Shoto slid over the ice with years of practice to back him up, though Midoriya followed him with surprising agility. The shadow beast formed a shield around Tokoyami, making Shoto tsk in annoyance. From the floor arose an ice wall that separated the room and would hopefully ensure that Midoriya didn't get in the way.

Then Shoto started his attack.

He soon found out that however this Quirk worked, it didn't _tire_. He attacked it again and again, freezing larger and larger parts of the room, but without any apparent effect. It just lashed out, completely unfazed by his skill and strength, while he lost more and more precious time.

_I should be superior._

Why wasn't he? He'd nearly had him beforehand. But that _monstrosity_ was something he didn't want to risk invoking again.

And at the same time, he had to constantly renew his ice barrier to make sure Midoriya didn't get to them. If that happened, the fight was pretty much over.

Then, finally, a slip-up. For a short moment, Tokoyami's defense had budged in the course of a counter-attack. It was now or never. Shoto vaulted over the bird-headed teen with an ice pillar, touched his back and froze him. Before the shadow beast could destroy the ice, he'd wrapped the capture tape around his arm.

"**Villain Team, Tokoyami: Captured!"**

Tokoyami looked at him in surprise.

Then he sighed and started hauling his Quirk in. Shoto doubled his efforts to make sure the ice barrier wouldn't budge, not now, while Tokoyami unveiled the bomb…

It wasn't there.

Unbelieving, he stared at the cavity in the shadows that by all means should have contained the bomb – except it didn't.

Tokoyami smiled.

"If thy superior opponent decides to yield, thou shalt question yourself – otherwise, thou might reduce yourself to a mere pawn on his chessboard. And which strategist would trade the Queen for a pawn?"

Shoto looked at him with barely sustained fury. _They _foresaw_ it. They planned all of this in advance, and I took the bait like an idiot._

"**Time's up! The villain team… wiiiiins!" **

Shoto fell down on his knees, panting, while Tokoyami's Quirk broke up the ice cocoon. "You are upon conscience a devastating opponent. I shall try and bear you no ill will, for you merely did what you considered necessary in order to achieve victory. But be cognizant of me pardoning you this time does neither mean I will forget it nor that I will forgive you if you decide to retry this ever again."

* * *

**Target building, the Basement Monitor Room**

All Might would've lied if he'd claimed to not have been a _little_ biased, but as it had turned out, he'd been right.

"Wow… okay, that was just… wow…" Sero seemed to have lost his ability to speak coherently.

Bakugo looked like the cat that ate the canary; his whole posture just screamed "I fucking said you so" (and that way of talking was something they'd need to address eventually).

"Kinda annoying that it was too dark to see that part before Midoriya-kun arrived though…" Kaminari said disappointedly.

"Okay, but how did they manage to get the bomb away?" a confused Mineta asked.

"Maybe Tokoyami-kun gave it to Midoriya-kun while he fought Todoroki-kun?" Uraraka opined. "It was just so _fast_…"

"Speaking of Midoriya-kun, his performance was sorta weird, right?" Kaminari stated. "I mean, after Tokoyami-kun had Todoroki-san cornered, Hagakure-chan didn't stand a chance – how did he pull that manacle off, anyway? – and then after Todoroki-san made that ice wall, he just punched it a few times."

"**How about we wait to hear it from them personally?" **

Suddenly, everyone agreed. Being All Might had its advantages.

Todoroki was the first one who entered the room. He didn't speak, didn't react to anyone, didn't _acknowledge_ the presence of his classmates in any way, shape or form. He just came in, stopped dead exactly four meters away from everyone else, and looked at the wall. His expression was perfectly smooth and stoic, not moving a muscle while his classmates barraged him with questions.

The second one entering was Hagakure, who seemed disappointed about her defeat but conveyed it to everyone by gesticulating in the most expressive way possible for someone of whom only the gloves and shoes were visible to others. She abundantly came forth about Midoriya being "a total kick-ass" who she "didn't stand a ghost of a ghost of a chance against".

This lead to a quite flustered Deku keeping after her and trying to convince her to cease her lavish praising. Katsuki smirked upon seeing him now being the one surrounded by gushing classmates, leading to him accidentally adapting copper in his eyebrows.

So the costume really was as great as he'd requested. He just knew Deku would want to discuss this as soon as the fights were over.

Speaking of which, number four entered the room. Somehow that guy who had a fucking _bird's head_ still managed to look mysterious and graceful… even if he was like, shorter than him by at least ten centimeters.

Katsuki wasn't sure if he liked that one.

However, he did respect strength. And if his display against Todoroki was anything to go by, he had a good deal of that. Suddenly, Birdboy returned his gaze with piercing red, and an overwhelming sense of _doom_ flushed over him, making him cringe slightly. In that moment, Katsuki came to a realization.

Firstly, that guy was neither calm nor sedate. He was angry and frightened, and he only managed to hide that by _overwhelming_ self-composure.

Katsuki had a bad temper. He knew that, and while he strictly refused anger management crap, Deku still impressed as much shit as possible on him, and he probably drew one or two lessons out of that. At least enough to deduce something out of his demeanor.

That bird was in a turmoil of emotions, and Katsuki didn't know why. _Togokami or something like that. What the fuck is up with you?_

Katsuki was sure he had been… serene? Much less agitated for sure. Before the fight, during the first half of the fight… and then that episode no one had gotten to see, in the blackened room.

_There is something about this one. Something that doesn't feel right._

It suddenly seemed as if Katsuki had found the most dangerous of his new classmates.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for the first match! Hello foreshadowing, my old friend!**

**Next time we're gonna have the other four matches! What, did you think I'd just leave them out? Hell no. **

**As always, I'll respond to all reviews that aren't from guests or flames, so if you want to discuss something (or just flatter me, which feels great, too :-****), feel free to leave one!**

**The mandatory: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't!**

**Remember to go beyond…**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out.**


	10. The trials just go on and on

**Shoutout again to RottedKarma for their Beta-ing. They achieved something inhuman.  
**

* * *

"**Well then, shall we proceed with the battle analysis?"**

Everyone seemed to be okay with that, though when All Might asked **"So, can anyone explain the villain team's strategy?" **it took a long time until someone raised their hand. Truth be told, Katsuki _did_ have an idea of what Deku had pulled off, but he figured he didn't count since they'd mulled over siege tactics since they were ten.

Finally, it was some girl with the spikiest ponytail Katsuki had ever seen who wanted to have a try at analyzing. "Well, the most important factor in their plan obviously was to separate Todoroki-san and Hagakure-san. In order to achieve that, they prepared both the room in which Tokoyami-san waited, so that he or the bomb wouldn't be as easy to spot, and broke holes into the floors to expand their mobility. That was the only way for Midoriya-san to ambush them like that: He waited in the darkened room until the ice covered anything, likely for the purpose of lulling them into a sense of security. Then he exploited the short argument between Hagakure-san and Todoroki-san to get into a good position. As soon as Todoroki-san unfroze the room, Midoriya-san attacked him and pretended to struggle against Hagakure-san, since she, as Bakugo-san pointed out already, was the more dangerous of the two in this exercise."

Everyone watched her flawless critique with awe.

"Todoroki-san correctly concluded that he couldn't use ice attacks as long as he had an invisible comrade fighting, who would've reacted unfavorably with such a drop in temperature. He then proceeded to get up without paying any mind to their fight as it seemed to him that Hagakure-san could contain Midoriya-san."

Todoroki regarded her with _the_ _look_, but she remained unfazed.

"Todoroki-san, being extremely capable in fighting, was confident that he would manage to subdue Tokoyami-san, which indicates that he didn't comprehend the villain team's strategy. Instead, he started to fight Tokoyami-san. While we were unable to watch the actual battle, he seemed weakened afterwards, by which we can deduce that the discrepancy he imagined between them was not as clear as he believed it to be."

"SERIOUSLY, WHICH OF YOU IS THE TEACHER?"

All Might himself was at a bit of a loss himself, and didn't say anything.

"Concerning the fight between Hagakure-san and Midoriya-san, I noticed that Midoriya-san's costume seemed to have a special feature. Is that correct?"

"A feature?" Ashido asked in surprise. "Okay, now I'm interested! C'mon, Midori-kun, spill it!"

"Well," Izuku said self-consciously, with all eyes suddenly being on him, "er, you see, well…" What was up with him? He just won his match! He shouldn't be this nervous!

Well… he was going to have a talk later on.

"_Midoriya-san… I owe you an explanation, and an apology. I would like to request a rendezvous after school. You may bring with you whoever you'd like to, should it set your mind at ease."_

"Er… you gonna tell us?" Kirishima asked good-naturedly. "I mean, I'm cool with it if you want to have it as a secret weapon or something, but…"

"Oh, no, I mean, of course, yes!" Izuku hastened to get a hold on himself. He also removed his mask because it muffled his voice somewhat. "Er… well, my Quirk works by changing my cells into a different material. The requirement for that is that I touch it – I don't have something like memory cells for it, so I can only copy the molecular makeup if I have physical contact."

Katsuki would have facepalmed like Deku got into the habit of doing, but he'd learned years before that that was a bad idea given the traits of his sweat. Still, Deku and Quirks…

"So, when I requested my Hero costume, I needed two things. Firstly, on the inner surface I have plates of nineteen different materials that directly touch my skin."

"So you have something like your personal adaptation arsenal with you?" Kaminari asked interestedly.

"I'm surprised that you were the first one who noticed that." Jiro deadpanned.

Kaminari started complaining while Izuku continued. "The second thing I applied for was that my costume would be able to mimic my Matter Adaption."

Instantly, everyone shut up. Then… "WHAT?"

"Wait, your costume has a Quirk?" Kaminari asked.

Jiro pierced him with her Earphone Jack. "Of _course_ not, idiot."

"But how did they do that?" Tooru asked. She still had the manacle around her hand and felt pretty uncomfortable with it – seriously, it was way heavier than it looked like. "I mean, a Quirk like that has its limit. It doesn't just apply on your costume as well!"

Yaoyorozu smiled. "It's made out of your hair, right, Midoriya-san?"

Izuku nodded. "Yes."

"Wow. Kinda gross if you think about it."

"Okay, wait a sec. Did you say _hair_?" Hagakure asked in bewilderment. "Why _hair_?"

Izuku nodded, feeling a bit insecure despite having bested Todoroki with his plan. And he knew it was gross for himself, thank you, Sero. "Well… it has to do with my first Super Move. I need a costume that can adapt alongside with me if I want to use it. And it was actually easier than I thought; U.A. has a contract with a hairdresser who has a Hair Elongation Quirk. Since that hair contains my own DNA, it is able to react on Matter Adaption."

"Wow. You sure put some thought into that." Ashido stated. "Makes me sorta jealous." She grinned infectiously. "Still, you were totally awesome out there! Was the whole thing your plan?"

"E-er, no, Tokoyami also helped me a great deal…"

"I merely polished the weapon you forged, Midoriya-san. No one shall judge you for taking the credit you deserve."

Deku had slowly adapted plastic in his eyes (which didn't look creepy at all), so Katsuki waited eagerly how long he'd stand the gaff before the praise melted his brain.

Sadly, Ponytail saved him by continuing with her analysis. "As I stated, the clue to his success laid in the special feature of his costume. Midoriya-san sacrificed a small part of his body mass, likely fat or hair cells, and a tiny sample of metal which helped that part to maintain the adaptation during what I assume was his Super Move."

"Cut the shit," Katsuki snapped. "They don't have a clue anyways."

Ponytail looked at him in what could be interpreted as annoyance before explaining: "Midoriya-san seems to be able to adapt liquids."

"WHAT?" Katsuki rolled his eyes; that exaggerated reaction was starting to become ridiculous. Seriously, they lived in a world where weird mouse-rat-bear things became principals and humans could look like washing machines, and they got excited about _this_?

"As far as I am concerned, Midoriya-san probably transformed part of his body into water. When Hagakure's punch hit him, he quickly transformed the water surrounding her hand into metal, making her visible to him."

"Okay, that's just plain unfair. Liquids? Really? How are we supposed to stand up against that?"

"Quit the crying, Kaminari."

"I also wanted to point out that we are over thousand words into this chapter and still don't know where the bomb is. Ribbit."

Everyone looked at Asui in confusion.

"Let's just pretend you never said that, alright?"

"If it's necessary. Ribbit."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "To be honest, I don't know where they deposited the bomb either. The only thing I can say is that it wasn't in the room when Todoroki entered."

"**Thanks, young Yaoyorozu. In this case, does anyone else have a clue?"**

Peaceable head-shaking followed.

"**Well, since I don't know either, how about our villain team explains it themselves?"**

"He just boldly stated that he doesn't have a clue…"

Tokoyami sighed as Izuku had started to freeze completely while unleashing a small mumble-storm, and explained, "As we could not exclude the possibility of the Heroes besting us, we braced ourselves. For that purpose, my Quirk, Dark Shadow, hid away the object of our nefarious goal in a chamber upstairs. Hereupon we concealed the lair in which I awaited Todoroki-san, whose thoughts it never entered that the bomb might be without guard."

"Okay. What?"

"That's over my head."

"What'd he just say?"

"After Todoroki-san's first attack, he put the bomb on the fourth floor. Then he darkened the room, so Todoroki-san didn't notice its absence, and then Dark Shadow took a shape which made it appear like it was enveloped in it." Yaoyorozu explained.

"Great, so why didn't he just say it like that?"

"**Now that you all know how the fight could end like it did, who do you think was the MVP in this battle?"**

"Well, Midoriya-san, I'd say. It was his plan, right?" Ojiro stated.

"What?" Sato objected. "Don't you think it was Todoroki-san? He stood his ground against Midoriya-san and Tokoyami-san at the same time!"

"Though you have to keep in mind it was Todoroki-chan's misplanning that led to the whole situation in the first place," Asui pondered. "And Tokoyami-chan let himself be captured because he knew the time was almost up."

"Yeah," Mineta chimed in, "but Hagakure-chan was the only one who actually tried her best in this, right? I mean, the other three were way more careless than she was!"

"And I still say it was Midoriya-san's plan!"

"Todoroki-san's strength!"

"Tokoyami-san's foresight!"

"Hagakure's breas…thtaking concentration!" Mineta shrank under the glares he received from those around him.

"**It seems we have a disagreement. In this case…"**

"It was Tokoyami-san." Yaoyorozu stated.

_She interrupted All Might!_

"**How did you come to that conclusion?"**

"Simple," Yaoyorozu said, and somehow it really sounded like it was simple when she said it. "Todoroki-san was careless. He didn't take the training as seriously as he should have, and played into the villain team's hands."

Todoroki just looked at her again, impassive.

"Hagakure-san's performance was really good; she realized Todoroki-san's mistake with the ice coating almost immediately and tried to plan in advance. But she failed to recognize the villain team's strategy of dividing them and instead tried to fight Midoriya-san, who – in terms of hand-to-hand combat – was obviously superior to her."

Hagakure rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Yeah, that was kinda dumb…"

"Midoriya-san could have won with far more elegant tactics than the one he used. I assume that he wanted to test his manacle technique, which is effective, but takes a toll on his body. After that, he was too weakened to break through the ice wall Todoroki-san had created. Tokoyami-san on the other hand played to his strengths and occupied Todoroki-san to an extent that…"

"Er… actually that was part of the plan…"

Yaoyorozu looked at Midoriya-san in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Well…" Izuku explained self-consciously, "in case Tokoyami-san got incapacitated before the time was up, my job would've been to get to the bomb and defend it. We didn't know how strong he was, after all, and didn't want to risk him incapacitating us both, which is why I stayed outside. Also, had I destroyed the ice wall, I might have injured Tokoyami-san or Todoroki-san."

Everyone gawked at him in shock. "_That's_ how far you planned ahead?" Sato marveled. "That's crazy!"

"**Well, in this case, the MVP badge goes to… er… hm." **All Might hesitated. **"Er… well, it goes to…"**

"HURRY UP ALREADY!"

All Might sighed. **"It probably goes to young Hagakure."**

"EH?"

"WHAT? _Me_? B-but I didn't do anything! I was just no match for Izuku-kun!" Hagakure looked at him in… well, he couldn't place it. Invisible and all.

"**True. Young Midoriya was indeed more powerful than you. But this exercise is **_**not**_** a strength ranking. And MVP means Most **_**Valuable**_** Player. I will be frank: Young Todoroki, young Midoriya and young Tokoyami are all superior to you in terms of strength. That was what young Yaoyorozu was getting at."**

The girl nodded slowly, her confusion now obvious even without visible features.

"**But instead of just relying on your teammate, you tried to devise a strategy on your own, after you realized that young Todoroki did not take you seriously."**

All Might looked at the latter sternly, who just returned the gaze with cold anger burning in his eyes. _This might evolve into a problem later on_. But for now he'd focus on young Hagakure.

"**And if his teammate had been someone else, they both would have been incapacitated short after entering the building – young Midoriya had the surprise effect and greater agility, which he proved in his fight against young Todoroki later on. So I daresay you were the one who exploited their potential the most, ensuring your team had the chance to win!"**

Hagakure seemed overjoyed (considering the speed her arms flailed up and down while she talked to the flustered Midoriya) while Tokoyami nodded in approval.

"Oh, Izuku-kun?"

"Y-yes?" _First name basis? Kacchan, help!_

Of course Katsuki just stood there and watched, with a shit-eating smirk on his face.

"Could you please take off that manacle now?"

* * *

**Match 2: Koda Koji and Ojiro Mashirao as the villains vs. Kaminari Denki and Bakugo Katsuki as the Heroes**

"Man, Bakugo! Cool that we two are a team! You sure rock! This is totally like that one show where…"

Katsuki was really close to losing himself and blasting his idiot of a partner into the stratosphere, because he didn't know when to _SHUT THE FUCK UP_!

Then he thought of all the hours he and Deku had spent discussing scenarios and making plans, and calmed down again. Wouldn't do if he lost after actually _praising_ Deku. Invisibi- _Kacchan!_ – Hagakure wouldn't let him forget that ever again.

Wait.

Did he _actually_ develop an Inner Deku?

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

"… let loose that grenade and then they just went BOOM! Oh yeah, speaking of grenades, what features does your costume have? Mine has two really cool staffs that carry electricity, and also this neat headgear! My clothes are insulated, so I can protect civilians with them! I also…"

Katsuki was on the verge of facepalming. Again. Instead he gave a smile and painted a rosy picture of him ripping off Dunce Face' head and shoving it up his ass.

"**Start!"**

Life was beautiful.

Katsuki charged straight in, having Dunce Face follow him while wailing about him being uncooperative.

"Oi, Sparky! Here's a plan, so try to not fuck it up. Can you discharge electricity through the braces?"

"Wait – you actually have a strategy? You seem more like the 'Boom, DIE, hua hua hua!' type, y'know?"

"FUCKER! CAN YOU DO THAT OR NOT? IF NOT, AT LEAST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"Yeah, that's what I meant. But I can try. Waitaminute."

Dunce Face laid his palm on the brace and… "Yeah, works."

"Alright. Now use that shitty head widget and hack the other team's communication."

Dunce Face looked at him in awe. Bakugo loved it when people did that. Even those like that one. "Okay. I got an idea." With that, Dunce Face fiddled with his headgear, listened for a while, and then inhaled.

That didn't bode well. "What the fuck…"

"Hey, villains. Greetings from me, the Electric Hero, Center Shock! I just wanted to inform you that it was quite nice of you to let us hear your plans over the funk! Toodles!"

That idiot! That was… actually a decent idea, now that Katsuki thought about it. Psychological warfare and all that.

Still… Center Shock? _Really_?

"Okay, the bomb is on the fourth floor!" Oh, well. Dunce Face wasn't _completely_ useless, Katsuki guessed.

"Alright. You stay here. When I give the signal, you send a shock through the braces."

Dunce Face nodded.

A feral grin spread over Katsuki's face as he propelled himself upstairs.

* * *

**On the fourth floor**

Ojiro was exceedingly nervous. Not only did he get the violent Bakugo as an opponent, but there was also the problem that Koda's Quirk wasn't of much use in a cityscape. Not to mention that Bakugo was definitely in the Top 5 of the class judging by what he'd done at the Quirk Apprehension Test and the Entrance Exam.

"_Hey, villains. Greetings from me, the Electric Hero, Center Shock!_"

What?

"_I just wanted to inform you that it was quite nice of you to let us hear your plans over the funk! Toodles!_"

…Shit. This was _really_ bad. That message basically meant that Kaminari had a method to intercept their communication system. Ojiro cursed under his breath.

Then the explosions came near, and he quickly hid himself by wrapping his tail around a strut on the ceiling. At least the environment was to his advantage.

The _second_ he was in hiding, a demon disguised as a human shot out of the staircase, propelled by little explosions and rocketing forward. His speed was impressive, but Ojiro was quick to follow. In the moment Bakugo had to slow down in order to open the door at the end of the corridor, he silently leapt down and aimed a heavy hit at his head.

Unfortunately, it didn't land.

Bakugo shot around, faster than Ojiro expected _anyone_ to be, and met his tail with an explosion that shot him down the floor.

"Alright, monkey! Let's see what you got! Better give fucking everything if you wanna be more than just a warm-up for me!"

Ojiro adopted a fighting stance, filled with determination. Prodigy or not, he'd show him that he, too, had his pride.

Bakugo rocketed towards him, an explosion already at hand. Ojiro readily intercepted him with a palm strike to the arm and swept the other boy's legs with his tail. However, Bakugo jumped_ over_ it, propelled himself behind Ojiro and blasted him in the back.

Ojiro rolled over, leaped back to his feet and decided to change his tactics. The tailed boy jumped up to the ceiling again, clung onto a strut and started to swing around the beams, effortlessly dodging Bakugo's explosions.

"Here you got it, Bakugo! This is what monkeys do!"

Bakugo smirked.

Instantly, Ojiro knew something was off. The older boy seemed to adjust his grenade-themed little bracers, before leveling his right arm at him.

"Dunce Face! Now!"

Then Ojiro screamed with pain as an electric shock shot through him, causing him to lose his grip.

As he fell, he could hear Bakugo screaming "WARHEAD PANZERFAUST!"

Then everything went black.

* * *

**Target building, Basement Monitor Room**

Everyone stared reverently at how fast the second match had concluded. Bakugo's blast had checkmated Ojiro as well as broken and hurled the door into Koda, who'd been caught off guard and knocked out.

"That… that was _brilliant_! He took out both villains with a single attack!" Sero said while the four participants of the second fight came in (Ojiro still a bit fuzzy).

"Yeah," Ashido agreed enthusiastically. "Didn't he put the bomb at risk with it though?"

"Actually, no." Yaoyorozu explained. "His blast was only strong enough to affect the door – if Koda hadn't stood in line, he wouldn't have been harmed. Otherwise, the explosion could've led to serious injuries for Ojiro."

"**She is right! Young Bakugo demonstrated outstanding competence and proficiency with his Quirk as well as a quick wit! He used both his own capabilities and the specialties of his partner to the fullest, and is definitely the MVP of the second match!"**

Katsuki couldn't help but smirk at Deku, who looked at him in mock sulkiness.

Three seconds later they began discussing the tank's utility and how to improve it.

* * *

**Match 3: Yaoyorozu Momo and Mineta Minoru as the villains vs. Sato Rikido and Ashido Mina as the Heroes**

As soon as All Might had made the signal, Mina rushed into the building with enthusiasm. Finally she'd catch a glimpse of the real Hero training herself! Though she probably wouldn't be able to top those insane strength demonstrations of the first two rounds… well, whatever! She'd give her best nonetheless!

"C'mon, Sato! We gotta rush! The longer we wait, the more difficult it'll be, right? They're both trappers, after all!"

"Take it easy." Sato tried to curb her. "I'll just have to get my strength boost ready." With that, he opened a box of candy and threw three of them into his mouth. Mina quickly snatched one, too.

"_So tasty_!" she exclaimed in delight. "Did you make them yourself?"

Sato nodded sheepishly.

"Alright, I know who I'm gonna call at my birthday!"

* * *

**At the second floor**

"What _exactly_ do you think this is going to accomplish? Would you be so kind and stay focused?"

Mineta looked at her with as much innocence as he could muster (which wasn't much at all). "What do you mean? I just…"

Yaoyorozu pinched her nasal bridge. "Please, Mineta. Do you want to lose because you didn't even try to _control yourself_? You won't endear yourself to your classmates at all with that attitude!"

* * *

**At the Basement Monitor Room**

"Did that little squirt just…" Jiro seethed.

"It looks like it," Iida stated. "But we shouldn't be prejudiced – it could have been an accident!"

"Nah… I dunno…" Kaminari looked at the screen with somewhat of a glassy look in his eyes.

"Get a hold on yourself, Dunce Face!"

"Kacchan!"

"It's Kaminari! Kaminari Denki! What'd I even do to you?" Kaminari wailed.

"Hey, look," Sero stated, "it seems like they started to prepare themsel-… eh? Okay, wait, what's _that_?"

* * *

**At a room on the first floor**

"Whoa!" Mina exclaimed. "Look at this!"

In the back of the room was the bomb. And the floor was _cluttered_ with suspicious-looking violet orbs.

Mina could barely dodge when suddenly Mineta lunged out from behind the bomb and started pelting them with even more of the orbs – the effect of which Mina had already seen at the Quirk Apprehension Test.

But on the bright side, Yaoyorozu wasn't here, and Mina was pretty sure the two of them could subdue their pint-sized opponent.

So she veered to the right, sliding on her acid and melting through the orbs (to Mineta's horror), while Sato had to get by with just carefully avoiding the sticky things.

Luckily, Mineta, while being a decent shot, was unable to trap Mina due to her speed (and stayed strangely focused on her, which, to be honest, made her kind of uncomfortable). It didn't take long at all before Sato jumped over the ball minefield with sugar-enhanced strength.

Mineta let out a shriek and used the spheres to jump away from him, which led to Sato reaching the bomb effortlessly. Mina laughed merrily as Sato had it secured, simultaneously feeling somewhat disappointed that a team with a recommendation student hadn't managed a better performance than this.

Then, the door slammed shut.

Now Mina was annoyed. Was Mineta really petty enough to lock them in?

"Er… Ashido-san?" Sato sounded worried. That in turn made her nervous, too. "Wasn't the bomb supposed to be made of styrofoam?"

Mina nodded. "Yeah? So what…"

Sato squeezed the bomb, which crumpled and then slowly returned to its original form.

"…a_ fake_? They planted a fake bomb in the room?"

Mina felt betrayed. A fake? How had they… of course. Yaoyorozu had created an inflatable bomb, they brought it in here, Mineta littered the ground with sticky orbs, and…

"Oh no! Sato-kun, look at the windows!"

Sato, whose Sugar Rush slowly began to take a toll on him, turned around and could do nothing but watch as from above a purple liquid poured over the glass. At the same time, the liquid flowed towards them from underneath the door.

"Eeeh? What is this?"

Sato used the fake bomb to touch the liquid, to which it stuck.

"C-could it be..."

"… that this stuff is made of Mineta-kun's hair?"

They were _screwed_.

Wait, there was one option they had left!

"Sato-kun, I'll melt a hole through the floor! We're going to run a surprise attack while they think they got us!"

Sato looked at the purple goo hesitantly. "That could work, I guess. But make it quick, this stuff just doesn't stop coming."

Mina nodded and released her strongest acid through the soles of her feet, painting a small, sizzling cycle on the floor, which gave in soon after.

"Alright, the hole's done. Now c'mon!"

Both of them leaped down to the floor below – where four cannons were directed at them.

Yaoyorozu, who seemed quite proud with her accomplishment, smiled at them with the beauty of a mushroom cloud.

Sato and Mina were quick to yield.

* * *

**Match 4: Sero Hanta and Uraraka Ochaco as the villains vs. Aoyama Yuga and Iida Tenya as the Heroes**

Iida was a systematic and meticulous person.

Since the previous teams had lost due to underestimating their opponents, he made sure to take the threat seriously. This included thoroughly checking every room in the ground floor before moving up to the next stage. His partner, Aoyama, stayed in the main corridor of the stage they were frisking to ensure their opponents wouldn't be able to ambush them.

However, when they arrived at the fourth floor of the five-floor building without enemy contact, Iida became suspicious. They'd already lost around six minutes with sweeping the stories, which meant that slowly but surely their time got low.

After them being halfway through the _fifth_ floor and Iida now definitely confused, Aoyama spoke up.

"_Monsieur_ Iida, it seems like our _méprisable_ opponents entrenched themselves up on the roof✩."

Aoyama pointed up to the skylight, which had been covered in layers upon layers of tape.

Well, that Iida called cunning. "As expected of those wrenched scoundrels! Let us enforce justice on them with all our might!"

"_Oui, monsieur_!" Aoyama bowed flamboyantly before shooting a laser out of his shoulder bracer, cutting through glass and tape with ease. "The path is cleared✩!"

Iida swiftly got a table from the interior of a nearby room, thus creating a makeshift platform. Since the villain team would've been alerted by Aoyama's laser either way, he didn't have to worry about subtlety.

The main problem was that their opponents knew from where to expect them, so Iida had an idea.

"Aoyama. Is it possible for you to use your Navel Laser to propel yourself through the roof hatch?"

"_C'est un jeu d'enfant_." Aoyama lied down on the table. Luckily, the building's skylights were quite big, so at least he wouldn't have many problems with getting on the roof.

Aoyama rather inelegantly flew through the roof hatch, Iida following immediately after (though he had to resort to climbing) only to be met with a slap to his armor.

At first he was confused, but then he understood. Uraraka's Quirk. Of course – she'd applied Zero Gravity to him. And like the name said, he now floated through the air aimlessly.

"Okay, Sero-kun! I got Iida-kun!"

The other boy nodded and quickly tried to seize Aoyama with his tape. The sparkling boy though proved himself as quite the good matchup against the two of them – his laser beams actually managed to hold Uraraka (who was only useful at close combat) and Sero's tape (which he cut through easily) at bay.

Iida on the other hand had been disabled before the fight had even begun, and to make matters worse, he couldn't see the bomb anywhere on the roof.

Then his brain suddenly produced a concept. _Hm. This might work…_

* * *

**At the Basement Monitor Room**

"Looks sorta bad for the Hero team, don't you think so? I mean, no offense, but how long do you think Aoyama-kun's gonna be able to keep this up?" Hagakure stated. "Also, is it just me or is Uraraka-san's Quirk just plain unfair in this terrain?"

"Yeah, you're right. Makes me even more pumped up to be next though! And you have to admit that it's damn manly to keep Uraraka-kun and Sero-kun covered simultaneously!"

"Could you brain-fucked idiots put your mind in gear before…"

Midoriya activated his Dark Aura of Kacchan.

"Alright, may I kindly pronounce my opinion with regard to the fact that _you are all imbeciles_? I mean, Four-Eyes is obviously up to something, so how 'bout you just hang tight and watch?"

* * *

**At the roof of training building 4**

Iida made a mental note to thank Tensei for his advice when it came to movement in difficult terrain. Though he had argued that presumably a fight in weightlessness was unlikely to ever happen, his brother had reasonably brought forward the argument that it never did any harm to be prepared. Iida was glad he had taken that to heart.

So when he was sure that Uraraka and Sero were fully focused on Aoyama – who seemed to feel the repercussions of his Quirk by now, but his dedication was most admirable – Iida stretched his legs nearly into a split, and slowly moved forward in first gear.

In the meantime Ochaco was getting increasingly weary.

While Aoyama was arguably weaker than, say, Yaoyorozu or Tokoyami, his Quirk proved to give him a serious edge against the two of them, and she just wasn't able to close in on him. She briefly considered making herself float to get to him, but decided against it – he had these pauldrons, so that move would probably make her an easy target.

Consequently she had to do it by conventional methods. And Aoyama seemed to slowly wear out in this two-on-one fight.

Sero shot another round of tape that was cut off by Aoyama's laser beams, shredding the tape into ribbons that fluttered through the air and forced her to dance around them as she attacked. Sero's attacks grew slower and unfocused, whereas Aoyama had taken to clutching his stomach; both were definitely giving into exhaustion, so Ochaco got ready.

Then she heard something behind herself. She barely had time to turn around when… WHAM!

When Iida's engine-powered kick sent her across the rooftop her concentration collapsed – leading to her releasing her Quirk.

In that moment, three things happened in quick succession. Firstly, Iida, back to being affected by gravity, ran towards Uraraka. Secondly, Aoyama, now suffering from serious stomach ache, shot a final beam out of his belt that managed to hit Sero's left elbow, who hissed in pain but seized the opportunity to wrap his now defenseless opponent in tape out of his right one.

And thirdly, the bomb suddenly dropped down and fell straight on Aoyama.

"**The bomb… ahem… the bomb has been secured. The Hero team wins!"**

* * *

**At the Basement Monitor Room**

"Wow, that was sick!" Ashido exclaimed. "I mean, did you see that! Iida-kun totally rocked!"

"His movement in zero-g was sort of metal, yeah." Jiro agreed. "Could have something to do with Sero and Uraraka having paid him no attention as soon as he was in it though."

"But the 'securing' of the bomb was funny," Kaminari stated. "I mean, it just dropped straight on Aoyama-kun – to be honest, I feel kinda sorry for him. Styrofoam or not."

"But wasn't it mainly luck?" Asui asked. "Uraraka-chan made the bomb float above the field, and in that scenario the consequences would have been pretty bad if it'd fallen on the ground. Ribbit."

"**You are right, young Asui. But in Hero business, luck is important, too! Quirk advantages, coincidences, natural calamities etc. – in all of these events, luck is vital for the Heroes! So while I agree that the outcome of this battle was significantly influenced by happenstance, it won't reflect on their grades – after all, there have been stranger incidences throughout the years. I remember that one event with Ryukyu three years ago where she fought a villain while completely covered in raclette cheese."**

Everyone blinked, and then chose not to ask.

* * *

**Match 5: Jiro Kyoka and Kirishima Eijiro as the Heroes vs. Asui Tsuyu and Shoji Mezo as the villains**

Eijiro felt _pumped up_. He had been mesmerized by the previous fights, but now that it was finally his turn, he could hardly wait for the whole thing to start. Also, the Quirks of their opponents were suited for direct combat, which made it even better. He knew strategizing was important, but his favorite sort of fight was still an all-out, old-fashioned brawl.

Plus, Jiro was _super manly_. As soon as All Might had announced the start of the battle, she had plugged her Earphone Jack into a wall and had instantly found out where Shoji and Asui were. She'd also reprimanded him quite dryly that, as Shoji had a surveillance Quirk too, he shouldn't "burst into the room like a decerebrated punk".

Eijiro had agreed, and also reminded himself to look up "decerebrated" later on.

So now they were inside, as quiet as they could possibly be with one of them being Eijiro (who thought that at least he tried his very best). Jiro checked the position of the enemy team every few seconds, but they didn't seem to move much.

As soon as they'd reached the fourth floor, they only whispered to each other – something Kyoka had proposed, though she quickly learned that Kirishima was _incredibly_ bad at whispering. She actually wasn't sure if he was quieter than beforehand at all.

"Alright. They don't talk to each other, though I can hear them moving. They're probably using sign language or something."

Eijiro nodded and grinned in excitement. "Alright, here we go!"

He hardened his body and threw himself against the door – which gave in without resistance.

Eijiro's eyes widened in surprise, then he had to duck in order to avoid the capture tape Shoji held ready. Quickly, he made a roll to the left, shortly before being wrapped in something sticky and moist. As he was hurled up, he realized the sticky and moist thing had been Asui's tongue.

Eijiro turned while airborne, grabbed the tongue and pulled with all his might, which resulted in Asui breaking away from the wall she'd been sticking to. While she was falling down, Jiro activated her own Quirk

The effect was overwhelming. As she was standing inside the door, there was only one direction from where one could get at her, and the speakers at her legs covered that pretty effectively, letting out the most ear-shredding, brain-grinding, nerve-burning _screech_ that Eijiro had ever heard.

Shoji, who unfortunately still had two of his Dupli-Arms transformed into ears, prostrated quickly, pressed his hands on the sides of his head and groaned in pain. Asui had been able to dodge the bulk of it, but appeared dizzy, opening her to a hardened punch that made her stagger back a few paces.

Jiro in the meantime slowly stepped forward, her boots still emitting the excruciating noise, before calmly wrapping the capture tape around Shoji's arm.

"**Hero team, Shoji – captured!"**

Asui leaped out of the way when Jiro directed another sound attack at her, before avoiding Eijiro's flurry of blows narrowly. She then stuck to the ceiling, snatched his ankle – _not again!_ – and flung him straight into Jiro, who was forced to cut her attack in order to not injure her teammate, before being toppled over by said teammate.

Asui jumped towards them while Eijiro hurried to get away from Jiro, who was still slightly dazed. Had it not been for his intervention, Asui's follow-up kick would likely have knocked her out. Instead he pulled her away as the frog girl descended, who instantaneously used her tongue like a whip to slap her out of his hands.

Kirishima had to respect that girl's strength and speed. The latter especially. He just couldn't land a clean hit on her because she was so damn _agile_!

Kirishima was delighted. This was how he'd imagined battle training going!

As soon as Jiro had cleared her head again, Asui was on the defensive. While her skill and flexibility were great, she just stood little chance against the two of them at the same time, with the bomb still behind her. Which didn't mean that she'd ceased in her efforts, because she hadn't. Instead, she pulled out all the stops, resorting to throwing the room's furniture at them with a surprisingly high rate and occupying the two of them for quite a while.

Finally though, Jiro managed to overcome Asui's barrage and got to the bomb.

"**The bomb was secured! The Hero team… wiiiins!"**

"At last… the chapter… is over. Ribbit."

* * *

**A/N: I'm not dead! Yay!**

**No, seriously. I'm haven't discontinued this story and I'm not going to do so anytime soon. To be honest, the whole damn 2 MONTH delay was due to some pretty shitty computer problems. Sorry.**

**Next update is going to hit a lot sooner; expect it within one or two weeks. Pinky promise.**

**Something about the Team Yaoyorozu strategy that I wanted to include, but didn't find a good time to do so: Yaoyorozu used her Quirk to create a dissolvent which they used to make the ****GrapeGlue™.**

**Next time: Talk to Tokoyami...**

**Well then: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't!**

**Remember to go beyond…**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out.**


	11. Quoth the Raven

**If you somehow managed to overlook the last ten chapters' notes: RottedKarma is The One Who Beta-ed This Story And Is To Be Praised For It.**

* * *

**10 ****April, 22XX – First official day of school**

**03:44 p.m. at the school backyard**

Izuku sighed with relief, as finally the turmoil around them had come to an end.

After the fights and respective evaluations, he, Katsuki, Todoroki and Tokoyami had promptly found themselves surrounded by their classmates, who – depending on who you asked – declared they were either "kick-ass", "like, super awesome" or "paramount examples of heroic values". Todoroki had just ignored everyone and went home immediately after being released. Katsuki had run out of patience at some point and just roared at everyone who approached him. Tokoyami had either made cryptic statements or given short and polite answers.

And Izuku? As the after-fight meeting went along, he'd feared at least three times that he'd have a seizure or something similar, courtesy of an awkwardness-induced plethora.

But here they were, at last.

"They" being him and Katsuki. He'd briefly considered taking Kirishima or Hagakure along, but discarded that idea pretty quickly. He didn't want Tokoyami to feel like he wasn't trusted, nor did he want too many of their classmates to overhear what he was about to say, as he was almost certain it was sensitive.

But to be completely honest, Izuku did feel the slightest hint of unease when he thought about the whole incident. While it appeared that it had been too dark in the room to watch what happened inside for the people in the monitor room, Izuku himself had seen… _it_. As had Todoroki.

And Katsuki had actually told him that he thought that "Birdboy isn't one to fuck with" which pretty much translated into him feeling something like _nervousness_ – something he'd only ever admitted to having felt twice, the first time with Lime, the second time with the Sludge Villain.

And the reason for that currently stood in front of them, his face speaking of a calm and collected mind (as far as a bird face could convey that, anyway).

However, the boy's eyes bespoke his agitation, and his frame was tense.

Tokoyami looked troubled, and painfully on edge, but at the same time _radiated_ seriousness. More seriousness, in fact, than Izuku was accustomed to when talking to most adults.

"My greetings to you twain. Allow me to express my gratitude for agreeing to this rendezvous."

"Yeah, bring it." Katsuki snapped irritably. He'd already endured the extras called classmates for eight hours – _Kacchan!_ – _and_ tried to kill his Inner Deku for the fourteenth time by now, so he didn't have any itch to try and decipher Tokoyami's annoyingly roundabout wording. "Just say what you want to say, and for fuck's sake, use normal Japanese!"

"I believe your definition of 'normal Japanese' to vary from what one may consider truth by a margin nearly incomprehensible for the ordinary citizen's darkest oneiric images, but for the sake of your poor eudemonia and my prominent desire to preserve my physical integrity, I shall lower my sights."

That nearly had Katsuki ready to jump on Tokoyami's throat, and only through admirable efforts and willpower he managed to resort to merely shouting some distinguished expletives that left Izuku impressed. He was equally impressed by Tokoyami's nonchalant antagonizing of Katsuki, which usually carried with it grave danger.

"Well, so mote it be. Dark Shadow!"

Instantly, the shadowy beast shot out of his stomach, but it was hardly bigger than Tokoyami himself and certainly not as big and fear-inducing as it had been during the battle trial. **"Yo!" **

Katsuki was honestly surprised; he had to hand that to him.

_So Birdboy's Quirk is the sentient type?_

"As Midoriya-san is already aware, my Quirk, Dark Shadow, is a nearly autonomous creature of darkness connected to me. It grows stronger when surrounded to darkness and is weakened through light exposure."

"So that's why you blackened the room?" Katsuki asked. Both nodded.

Then, Tokoyami took a deep breath, before looking the two of them straight in the eye. "I requested this meeting because there are three things I want to say. Firstly…"

Tokoyami bowed, deeply and perfect in form.

"I am sorry. I am sorry for having put you into danger. I am sorry for not having warned you against the dangers of my Quirk. I am sorry for letting Todoro… I am sorry for what happened."

Izuku looked at him in astonishment. Tokoyami's voice had been clear and quiet, but genuine. Suddenly, although the two of them really weren't comparable, Izuku was reminded of All Might's smile after the U.A. letters.

"P-please, stand up. T-this is…"

Tokoyami straightened himself. "I am sorry."

"**Sorry from me, too! I didn't mean what happened, and… well, sorry 'bout Fumi's formality. He's a pretty stuck-up etiquette conformist sometimes!"**

"_Dark Shadow_…"

Katsuki watched the two of them in amazement. They seemed like… brothers of some kind? Annoying, bickering and ludicrously opposed brothers.

"The second thing," Tokoyami continued, "relates to some… idiosyncrasies of my Quirk."

"Idiosyncrasies? Your Quirk?" Izuku asked, eyes sparkling. He instantly produced his notebook and a pen, before looking at him eagerly. "Please tell me!"

Tokoyami seemed somewhat bewildered with his sudden change in behavior, but then slowly answered, "I would like it better if you did not write about this in a notebook. It is… _personal_. And I do not wish this to be known to the wrong kind."

Izuku looked at him in surprise. Never before had he ever been asked to _not_ write something about a Quirk in his notebooks. It was like a second nature to him, something so deeply ingrained in his personality that he did it nearly subconsciously. It was what he'd done during the majority of the four follow-up fights: observing and analyzing the other students' Quirks.

So being asked to not take his notes… it felt almost _wrong_, in a way.

"Don't make such a fucking fuss!" Katsuki looked at Birdbrain with annoyance. "What, you think Deku's the type of idiot who leaves his notes lying about in the open? Seriously, stop acting like a bit-part player in a cheap spy movie!"

"I shall be surprised that you didn't use the term 'extra' on this one occasion where it would actually have fit. Also, I am 'making such a fuss' because I am about to entrust an important matter to you, and I certainly would not be pleased to have it disclosed by someone else in our class – of which, you will surely agree with me, many members are quite talkative and do not seem like they could keep a secret very well. Believe me when I say though that I do not seek after imputing careless behavior to you."

Dark Shadow nodded fiercely, while simultaneously coiling around Tokoyami to… comfort him? Izuku couldn't really know, but if it really was that grave a situation, he'd meet his wish.

Maybe he could do the notes on what Tokoyami wanted to talk about in the code he'd developed to record the secret of One for All in his notes on All Might. He made a mental note to ask him at a later date; for now, listening would be enough.

"Thank you for your understanding. Now… what I am about is rather quickly explained." Now Tokoyami looked so serious that it was nothing short of _intimidating_.

"You see…" The bird-headed student sighed before continuing haltingly. "Dark Shadow has a penchant to become… _unstable_ in dark places. It is further churned if I am charged with negative emotions, such as fear, rage or regret. If these both conditions are met, Dark Shadow starts to insurge and will no longer obey me fully. And if it becomes extreme… it may break free."

It was a sunny and warm afternoon, but somehow, it felt like it had become ten degrees colder during this last sentence.

"B-break free?" Izuku whispered, cowed by Tokoyami's voice.

"It will take over my body, congest me with wild, raw, dark emotions and go on a rampage, indiscriminately attacking everyone it believes to be a danger to me."

Katsuki's eyes widened in horror. "What?" he asked tonelessly.

Tokoyami looked pained. "It's supreme aim is still to protect me, but…"

"No, what? What the fuck? Your Quirk can _possess_ you?"

Suddenly, he was at the street again, ten months ago, with thick, heavy sludge covering his nose and mouth, attempting to suffocate him, to get _inside_ of him. Most of what he remembered was pain, panic, when the liquid covered his eyes and left him struggling in darkness, but there were also the brief flashes of thoughts and movements that hadn't been his _own_, as if the villain's consciousness had started seeping into his mind. He'd never admit it, but the Sludge Villain still appeared in his nightmares sometimes.

If being possessed by his own Quirk felt the tiniest bit similar for Birdboy as it had for himself, then he had suddenly risen significantly in his esteem.

"Wait…" Izuku said falteringly. "So… you mean that… when Todoroki-san…"

Tokoyami nodded. "He was privy to certain information I was not aware he had, and when he disclosed this, it troubled me greatly. Hence, my grip on Dark Shadow weakened. Had he proceeded much longer, I fear that my control might have given in at least partially."

"**I'm sorry, Fumi! I didn't mean it! I really didn't!"**

Tokoyami looked at his Quirk with something akin to fondness. "Never would I insinuate anything else."

"But…" Izuku said, "your control… you might have…"

"That," Tokoyami said, every sign of good mood gone again, "is the main cause for my request. For yes, Dark Shadow might have seriously injured Todoroki-san. I hope this will never happen again, but fate almost certainly has other plans. So I can only be prepared."

Tokoyami's gaze became almost unbearable. "I humbly request that, if the need arises and my control gives way, you put an end to it… by all available means."

Izuku looked at him in shock. "But…"

"Don't get all dramatic, bird face!"

"_Kacchan!_"

Katsuki huffed in annoyance. "To-ko-ya-mi. Pleased? Whatever, if light weakens your Quirk, we won't have any problems with you."

Tokoyami cocked his head. "A short-sighted statement. And you are aware of that. Why do you try to put me at ease?"

For fuck's sake, Katsuki couldn't stand those… _perceptive_ types.

"Tokoyami-san?" Katsuki turned to Deku in surprise. Usually, he didn't sound like…

Then Katsuki caught a glimpse of _it_.

The fire that sometimes lit in Deku's eyes. The resolve, the spirit, the drive, the whatever exactly it was that had All Might give him his Quirk.

"I want to become a hero who saves everyone with a smile. One who makes everyone think that 'it's all right now, because he's here'. Do you think I'd let a fellow hero student down?"

He looked at the bird-headed teen with as much reassurance as he could muster, his determination getting the better of him. Tokoyami seemed slightly less on edge compared to before, which he chalked up a win.

"And I also won't start to be afraid of you just because you told me that. Actually, it's admirable that with a drawback like this, you still want to become a hero! I mean, not that your Quirk doesn't suit it! It's amazing; there are few Quirks that are as versatile as the sentient types!" Midoriya contemplated that. "It'd probably be of use for someone with a Quirk like yours to get into martial arts training though. That'd make some sort of two warriors in one body, which would be really effective! Now that I think about it, a darkness-inducing support gear would also be ideal for that. Not just a cape, but how about a device similar to a smoke bomb that emits a light-absorbing cloud of particles? And maybe flash grenades to rein Dark Shadow back again? Or, for that matter, a control device that'd automatically activate a flash if Dark Shadow starts to act up? Plus night vision goggles, that'd be super useful considering the environment he performs best in. If he is skilled enough in hand-to-hand combat, he could also consider using a weapon of some kind, since otherwise, he'd leave himself a bit unprotected. Advisable would be…"

"Is this… something he does on a regular basis?" Tokoyami asked as Izuku got absorbed into his mumblestorm.

Katsuki sighed. "You'll get used to it."

"Though I do comprehend why you claimed him as a sidekick. This analysis is most impressive."

"… actually, now that I think about it, I recently heard of a Quirk that could solidify shadows. Assuming that Tokoyami-san carried some bits of that around, could Dark Shadow draw power out of it by, well, eating it or something? In that case…"

"**Wait, eat? EAT? You mean there's a way to make me eat something? That'd be totally amazing! I wanted to eat something all my life!" **

That shook Izuku out of his muttering. He instantly realized what he'd been doing, and started to adapt leather on his temple in embarrassment. But then… "Wait, you… want to eat something?"

Dark Shadow nodded enthusiastically, while Tokoyami seemed the tiniest bit embarassed by his Quirk's behavior.** "I can't really eat anything; at some point it just phases through me, or it dissolves and goes into Fumi – hey, that rhymed – so it was always something I wanted to try out!"**

Tokoyami sighed. "Please excuse my fatuous partner. It does not possess a brain of any sort, which is the main reason I blame for its foolishness." He then frowned slightly. "Be that as it may… do the prospects of my Quirk's dangers… do they not frighten you at all?"

Izuku met his gaze calmly. "They do. Fear is a natural response to danger. But, Tokoyami-san? _You_ don't frighten me. Nor does Dark Shadow."

Katsuki grunted. "Yeah, same here. Can't really say you didn't give me the creeps when you came back from the battle though." Izuku looked at him, now truly flummoxed. For Katsuki to _acknowledge_ another person this early was incredibly rare. He knew that he was more inclined to open himself to powerful people, but… maybe it was because Tokoyami was the first person who hadn't been intimidated by him _at all_. Well, Kirishima came quite close, as did Hagakure and Ashido, but still…

"Actually, congrats for having the balls to annoy me like that. Even Deku hardly does 'cept I give it to someone else straight."

"I'm… not really sure if that's the best way to put it, Kacchan…"

Of course it was because of _that_. Izuku couldn't believe that he'd actually thought Katsuki would accept a classmate at all if he wasn't either a) "not a total pain in the ass" b) "had the guts to be a total pain in the ass" or c) "was Deku". Or wait, wouldn't that mean he thought he _was_ a total pain in the ass? Since otherwise, he would be in a), right?

Whatever. This was Katsuki, after all. And Izuku would certainly not reprimand him when he, surprisingly, didn't act like… well, Katsuki.

Tokoyami, on his part, smiled. Izuku was intrigued that he was able to do it with a beak, but actually, he was surprisingly good in it.

"Then I shall be grateful, my class mates. Hopefully, we…"

"Friends."

"I beg your pardon?" Tokoyami said, visibly confused.

"Friends," Izuku repeated assertively. "We're friends."

Tokoyami looked at him in utter surprise. "Friends?" he repeated quietly.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "If he's as dull as that, I'm not sure about it, Deku."

"Kacchan! We want our classmates to _like_ us!"

Tokoyami then said, "I agree. I shall call you twain friends." And for some reason, he seemed really happy about that.

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the teachers' lounge… **

"Please have some tea," Principal Nezu offered. "I recently switched brands, and my body agrees with me."

His companion chuckled. "Well then." As the principal poured him a cup, he looked around in the spacious lounge approvingly. Quite comfortable; modern, but still with an inviting flair.

"Truth be told, I was very surprised by your request," Nezu stated. "While it is not unheard of, to have someone with no reputation at all switch into a spot like this…"

"No _official_ reputation," the other one remarked with a hint of amusement in their voice. "Apart from this I hardly believe that you found it surprising in the slightest."

Nezu smiled. "You are truly a refreshing conversationalist. But while I am well aware of your accomplishments, the public is not, I'm afraid."

His opposite slowly and deliberately took a sip of tea, kept it in their mouth for a moment to fully experience the eclectic taste, before finally swallowing and sighing contently. "You certainly were right. The flavors in this one are much more nuanced than they were in your previous tastes." They then set aside their cup and smiled. "And the public opinion is why I suggested this approach, as you are no doubt aware."

Nezu nodded. "Granted. Though there is one thing I do not understand. _Genuinely_ not." That had his collocutor intrigued. "You see, what I fail to comprehend is why you only make your move _now_. It has been five years, and for someone like you with an admittedly colorful and strong personality to hold back for so long… it seems unusual."

Now the other one chuckled. "I have no doubt. But see, this is something of a… personal matter, one might be inclined to say. I am… waiting for somebody."

Nezu's eyes twinkled. He did appreciate his collocutor's aptitude when it came to dramatic pauses. "Well, in this case… I do not see any reasons against it. I am looking forward to our future cooperation."

"So do I, my friend. So do I."

* * *

**On the screen of a mobile phone, elsewhere…**

From: Sensei

To: Beto

_Tomorrow._

* * *

**A/N: Alright, that's it for today! **

**Something that's not about this chapter specifically, but I feel like I have to address it: The pairings. **

**Look, people. I totally agree that a pairing can make a story better. It raises the stakes, it adds some great character interactions, not to mention that it provides a countermeasure for some of the heavy shit. However, at this point in the story, the characters barely **_**know**_** each other. They've only been classmates for a couple of days, and I daresay you need a bit more than that for any sort of deeper relationship to form, let alone actual love. **

**So yeah, we might get a pairing at some point in the story, or maybe we won't. It depends on how it progresses. Either way, if you're here for a quick romance, or a romance-heavy story in general… well, you're barking up the wrong tree. Sorry.**

**Next time: Class Rep time! The media again! And who might Beto be?**

**As always,** **Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't! **

**Remember to go beyond…**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out.**


	12. We're only doing introductions now?

**11** **April, 22XX – Second day of school**

**08:19 at U.A. High School – Classroom 1A**

The second day of school started with a positive surprise, as the new acquaintances/friends/"less extra-y extras than the other extras" they'd made among their classmates had gathered around their tables the second the two of them had taken their seats. Katsuki sat at the second row next to the window, with Izuku to his right. Therefore, Hagakure had seated herself in front of Katsuki (as she was the only one he couldn't snarl at for blocking his view), Kirishima behind him and Tokoyami next to Izuku. Apparently it was possible to change seats in the first week, since the students were to take a little time to acquaint themselves with each other.

(Not that Katsuki would have known that; as soon as he realized that Tokoyami and Hagakure weren't seated around them, he'd simply told Sato and Mineta to "fuck off from where the cool people seat".)

(Izuku had reached new heights in apologizing for his friend after that.)

Sato had laughed it off and said that he was okay with a friend group wanting to sit together, quipping that a "please" would probably have been too much to ask for. Mineta seemed sore, however, but had offered little resistance (which could be seen as common sense if confronted with Bakugo) and instead claimed the now vacant seat of Tokoyami – to the great displeasure of Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, who were now seated to his sides.

Izuku made a mental note to talk to Mineta later on. He'd seen the boy at training yesterday, as well as his obvious "approval" of his team partner before he'd gotten a hold on himself, and frankly, Izuku was fully unsympathetic to actions like that.

He realized he'd started frowning, so he decided to put the Mineta topic aside for now and tried to ease up a bit, still a bit jumpy after the media assault outside. All those reporters' prying and inquiring had done little to ease his nerves, though Katsuki and his imaginative use of the Japanese language certainly had gotten them past the barrage eventually.

Izuku's attention returned to the heated discussion between his surrounding classmates about the best morning beverage. Katsuki had (oddly enough) a preference for iced mint tea, while Kirishima and Hagakure shared a fondness when it came to hot chocolate. Tokoyami claimed that "the only suitable elixir to raise the spirit of a soul is and shall be jet-black coffee". Since Dark Shadow backed him up, they had a draw, and now demanded a tiebreaker from Izuku, who was impressed how… sociable Tokoyami seemed. Granted, Kirishima and Hagakure still seemed to have trouble to understand his elaborate speech pattern, but he did put forth an effort (though not without reemphasizing that he was "lowering his sights" for them).

It definitely helped that the two were numbered among the more accessible students in their class, really.

Speaking of which…

"Helloo? You gotta take energy drinks in the morning! How _else_ would you survive with three hours of sleep if there's school next day?"

… over the course of the seating rearrangement, the clear winner for the spot of the greatest extrovert in class had taken her seat next to Hagakure and in front of Midoriya, and had instantly chimed in in their conversation: The pink-skinned Ashido Mina, whose borderline unrealistic energy and cheerfulness were much easier to understand after taking her sleeping and dietary habits into consideration.

Aaaand now everyone was debating. Kaminari had agreed with Ashido's energy drink suggestion (which increased Izuku's apprehension that at least one of the two was bound to be suffering severe sleep deprivation), Koda was in the hot chocolate camp. Shoji and Sero both supported coffee, though the latter stated he preferred it sugared. Yaoyorozu surprised and frightened everyone with her knowledge about tea brands. And so on and so forth.

"Quiet, now. I've already stood here for fourteen seconds. It seems like you didn't learn anything about rationality so far. Or, if you did, All Might did a good job on purging you of it."

Everyone startled slightly (and started scrambling to their respective desks) as Aizawa, who stood behind the teacher's desk in his caterpillar-like sleeping bag, "greeted" them.

"I can still expel every one of you lot," he said over the general pattering, "so take today's lesson seriously. You'll get your evaluations from yesterday's battle training in a second, but beforehand… we have another point on our list." The students, most of whom having finally succeeded in taking their seats, looked at him nervously. What sort of hellish training awaited them now?

"Today you'll pick a Class President and some other charges."

"_So normal!_"

Not even a second later the room was abuzz with excitement as around three quarters of the class laid claim to the position of Class Rep.

"Forgive my impertinence," Iida then interrupted, "but how is it a good time to elect such important tenures if we barely started to get to know each other? Surely assigning such a vital position after such a short period of time will increase the likelihood of an unsuitable person getting elected, sir!"

Aizawa sighed. "In all honesty, I don't care. We have to do it because the first student council meeting is due in a few days. Just pick one and get over with it. How you do it is up to you."

Then he slumped over, eyes closed and dead for the world.

It reminded Izuku a lot of their old grade school teacher.

"Seldom have I encountered a person who so perfectly embodied the spirit of the words 'not helpful'," Tokoyami said as quietly as possible without being drowned out by the general chaos.

"To my shame, I must admit that I agree with you," Iida said in disappointment. "Well then. _Everyone! Quiet down!_" he announced in a booming voice. "We all aspire to be heroes worthy of leadership, but this behavior is unbecoming for students of a school as prestigious as U.A.! To find a suitable candidate for a sacred office such as Class President, I propose that all of us give a brief introduction of themselves! After that, we shall conduct a democratic election!"

After a brief discussion Iida's suggestion was accepted and the students started to introduce themselves, with name, Quirk and a "special fact" about them. Izuku listened with rapt attention, furiously scribbling in his notebook – a chance like this didn't present itself often.

"My name is Aoyama Yuga✩. My Quirk is Navel Laser, enabling me to shoot a beam of ✩_sparkling_ ✩light. Another _éblouissant_ fact about me is that I am _un connoisseur_ in the field of cheese."

"… er… okay… I'm Ashido Mina! My Quirk is Acid, and, well, it does exactly what it says. I can secrete acids of all sorts out of my body. Now the fact about me… I'm really good at breakdancing!"

"I am Asui Tsuyu, ribbit. Though you can all call me Tsuyu-chan. My Quirk is Frog Form, and it gives me the abilities of a frog, such as extending my tongue, sticking to walls, jumping great distances and so on. I always speak what is on my mind."

"My name is Iida Tenya! My Quirk goes by the name 'Engine', manifesting in biomechanical engines in my calves that support me in terms of mobility and leg strength. I come from a family of heroes and aspire to follow in the steps of my older brother!"

"_Ingenium?!_" Izuku asked in realization. "Your brother… your brother, he's the Turbo Hero, Ingenium! That's what your costume reminded me of! One of your family members is such a well-known hero! _Incredible_!"

Tenya tried his best to appear modest, but still relished in the admiration of his classmates.

"I'm Uraraka Ochaco! My Quirk is Zero Gravity! If I touch something with all five fingers, it becomes weightless! I like mochi!"

"My name is Ojiro Mashirao. My Quirk is Tail, and… well, I have a tail. I am practiced in martial arts." The boy seemed absurdly average compared to his predecessors, and it was obvious he was aware of it; Izuku could hear him sighing "So normal_. Again_" under his breath.

"Name's Kaminari Denki! My Quirk is Electrification, I can discharge electricity from my body! Neat, right? Ah, yeah, a fact about me… I'm pretty yeet at painting! I mean, well, I like modern art better than classic, but I'm good at both."

"Are you sure you can just adjectivize 'yeet' like that?" Sero joked.

"Alright, next is me! I'm Kirishima Eijiro, and my Quirk is Hardening! I can harden my body." He rubbed the back of his head, seeming a bit self-conscious. "Kinda plain, I know. A fact about me… The Hero Crimson Riot is my role model! He's so manly!"

Izuku was _sure_ he heard Hagakure giggle in front of him, but proof was hard to get at with her.

_I am Koda Koji. My Quirk is Anivoice. I like animals._ The timid boy had just very quickly given his introduction in sign language, leading to Yaoyorozu translating it for the rest of the class.

_Such an innocent cinnamon roll._

"I'm Sato Rikido. My Quirk is Sugar Rush; I gain a strength boost when I eat sugar. I regularly compete in baking contests and have already won quite a few." This led to many interested looks especially from the girls (out of whom Ashido seemed to be the most enthusiastic), as well as an envious glare from Mineta.

"My name is Mezo Shoji. My Quirk, Dupli-Arms, allows me to replicate any part of my body at my additional arms. As for the fact… one might call me a minimalist, though personally I'd just say that material possessions aren't that important for me."

"Kyoka Jiro. My Quirk's Earphone Jack; you've already seen it at work, and there isn't much more to it. It's basically sound attacks and reconnaissance. I, er, play nine different instruments." Jiro looked a bit embarrassed at the last notion, though it led to some acknowledging nods in the class.

"I'm Sero Hanta. I can use my Tape Quirk to shoot tape out of my elbows, which is good for moving around and incapacitating opponents. I like gardening."

"You do?" Ojiro asked in surprise. "I thought you'd limited yourself to succulents because you don't have a way with plants."

"That was five years ago," Sero said, sulking. "You could really stop plaguing me just because of that one violet."

"You two know each other?" Kaminari asked with interest.

"Kind of, yeah. We were in the same middle school," Sero explained. "We weren't particularly close, though. Acquaintances at best. Still, apparently close enough for him to pester me about a flower I had some problems with," he added sullenly.

"You tried to feed it _coffee_!" Ojiro said accusingly.

"I just wanted it properly nourished!" Sero defended himself.

"Would it be acceptable to postpone this conversation in favor of the introduction round?" Iida interrupted politely. "I am sure everyone here wishes to receive their battle analysis today."

"Well spoken forsooth. I shall proceed. I go by the name of Tokoyami Fumikage, and wield the Quirk Dark Shadow, a sentient beast of darkness connected to my very soul. Beyond that I find myself to be quite fond of apples."

That statement had the class puzzled for a second before their looks settled on Todoroki in anticipation.

The student with the split hair regarded them with a chilly look, before brusquely stating, "Todoroki Shoto. My Quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot, and I have no intention of making friends."

"… you know, dude, not my business, but that's not how an introduction's supposed to go…" Kaminari fell silent when Todoroki's gaze pierced him.

"Er, alright, so I'll go next," Hagakure quickly stepped in, hoping to lift the spirits. "I'm Hagakure Tooru. My Quirk is Light Refraction! It makes me invisible and gives me some light-bending abilities! I like everything sweet and fluffy!"

Chuckles in the class. Then… "I'm Bakugo Katsuki. I'll climb the top!"

Silence.

"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO THIS!"

"Kacchan… _please_?"

"Tsk, fine. My Quirk's Explosion, and you've all seen what it does. I'm good at anything."

Izuku put his face on his desk and wished to just cease to exist. Here and now.

"Er… Midoriya? Midoriya! It is your turn!"

Instantly, Izuku startled up. "W-what? Me? Er, alright, so, my name is Midoriya Izuku! My Quirk is O-" Katsuki kicked his shin with enough force to bring tears to his eyes. "I-I mean, M-matter Adaptation! If I touch something, I can adapt its molecular makeup, a-and gain a strength boost! A fact about me, er… I have the limited edition silver age All Might memorabilia suit V34 in the original form!"

_Katsuki_ put his face on his desk.

"Wait, you have _that one_?" Kaminari asked in excitement. "Isn't that like, super rare? That's totally neat! How did you get that?"

"Er, well, one night in front of the store, I guess?"

"Awesome, dude! Can you bring it one day?"

"Everyone is being so noisy…" Tokoyami sighed.

"Thanks, Midoriya," Iida stated vociferously. "Mineta, would you please proceed?"

"Phew. These were definitely the ten worst seconds of my life," Izuku sighed after the attention had disbanded.

"_They could've been the last ten seconds, dumbass!_" Katsuki hissed. "How _dare_ you fuck around like that, sprouting stuff about… _you-know-what_?!"

Izuku apologized as quietly as possible. Admittedly, he himself was anything but content with his near slip-up. Luckily, the class seemed to have overlooked it, though he couldn't be sure with the quieter, more observant students.

Then he made the mistake to listen to what Mineta had to say.

"I am Mineta Minoru. My Quirk is Pop Off – the balls on my head are extremely sticky for everything except me; I bounce off of them instead. A fact about me… well, one day I sneaked into **[REDACTED]** and **[REDACTED] **in order to **[REDACTED]**. It was great!"

After Mineta's introduction everyone felt suitably ill for a while, and they had to pause the introduction in order to bar Bakugo from assaulting the boy (reluctantly).

"Well… my name is… Yaoyorozu Momo… my Quirk is C-Creation… I can create anything from my body…" Yaoyorozu sighed, her complexion looking slightly greenish. "I speak five languages."

"Well, after we were properly – and luridly, in some cases – introduced to each other, shall we proceed with the election?"

The paper snippets were quickly distributed. While Izuku was aware of how valuable the experience in leadership was that came with the position of Class Rep, he gave his vote to Iida. His diligence and rigor made him a far more suitable candidate in his opinion.

Iida and Kirishima then started tallying the votes.

"Well…" Iida said in surprise after finishing the chart on the board. "This is certainly… unexpected."

The results were as following:

Aoyama Yuga – I

Iida Tenya – III

Kaminari Denki – I

Tokoyami Fumikage - III

Bakugo Katsuki – II

Midoriya Izuku – IV

Mineta Minoru – -II

Yaoyorozu Momo – III

Silence.

"I GOT FOUR VOTES? WHO DID THAT? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Midoriya asked in astonishment. Really, _four_? _Four votes_? That couldn't be happening! There was just no way he…

"Well, duh. Isn't that obvious?" Kaminari asked. "I mean, you totally kicked ass yesterday. Plus you're, like, super-smart and a pretty great strategist. Right?"

Consensual nods. Izuku looked at his surroundings incredulously.

"I am also pleased at the utmost to see that most of our class gave their votes to someone else!" Iida exclaimed. "This shows respect for the democratic traditions of our country!"

"Regarding that… how on earth did Mineta get a negative amount of votes?" Sero asked amusedly.

"Well…" Iida explained ruefully, "three of the ballots submitted were of the tenor of 'anyone but Mineta'. I chose to depicture it like this."

"Well…" Sato said, ignoring the protesting Mineta, "but we have a draw now between the candidates for vice President."

"Then we shall proceed with a second vote!" Iida replied. "The contestants are Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and myself!"

"I recede," Tokoyami said calmly. "I have no ambitions to fill the charge of Vice President."

That led to some turmoil in the class.

"Huh?" Izuku asked in surprise. "But why? Don't you think it's a good opportunity?"

Tokoyami sighed. "I would find myself profoundly pleased if I was permitted to withdraw _without_ having to justify my reasons."

"Well… is everyone okay with that?" Kirishima asked hesitantly. Most of the class agreed, though nearly everyone wondered why Tokoyami had refused to contest (Izuku's personal theory was that he wanted to appear mysterious).

"Then let's do a runoff!"

Shortly after, Yaoyorozu was elected for vice-President with eleven ballots (bizarrely enough one ballot again voted against Mineta).

As soon as the two of them stood in front of the class, Izuku was hyper-nervous. _Curse to the four who voted for me! Who are you? Don't give me that look, Kacchan!_

"Well then, are you done?" Aizawa drawled (and saved Izuku from having to say something). "If so, here are your reports."

"But, sir, we're still in need of a Treasurer, a Representative and a Secretary," Yaoyorozu objected.

Aizawa nodded. "Yes, but homeroom is almost up, so you're going to do it in the afternoon instead."

True. It definitely hadn't felt like it, but when Izuku looked at the clock, it stated without a doubt that they had only five minutes left before their next classes. He on his part breathed a sigh of relief over the mercy that he wouldn't need to deal with the duties of Class President immediately.

* * *

**12:38 p.m. at the cafeteria (lunch break)**

Izuku sat at a table together with Katsuki, Hagakure, Kirishima, Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu. The latter had joined them because she wanted to talk about how they'd proceed when it came to choosing the other student council members, since it apparently wasn't necessary for them to be elected like the Class President. So she had proposed to think about possible candidates first, as a position like Treasurer was likely to be less coveted than that of President anyway.

"For the Secretary's office, you should search for someone who can write fast and legible," Kirishima suggested. "Iida would probably be a fit."

"Do you think he writes in Arial?" Hagakure quipped.

Yaoyorozu chuckled politely and explained, "The most important decision we have to make now is who to appoint as Class Representative, since whoever gets appointed as such will be responsible for all representative tasks, which for example includes the opening speech for the Sports Festival."

"Not Bakugo," Hagakure, Kirishima and the bypassing Jiro and Shoji chorused.

"THE FUCK? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SAYING, DUMBASSES?"

"I shall bring to your attention that your cacophonous roars prove the skeptics correct," Tokoyami commented drily.

"_And_ not Tokoyami," the four of them added.

"So, how about-" Kirishima started, when suddenly a horrible _screech_ pierced through the cafeteria. A repeated **UUUURRIIIEEEEEEEE** that reminded Shoji uncomfortably of Jiro's sound attacks.

"**SECURITY LEVEL THREE HAS BEEN BROKEN. ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."**

Instantly, a panic started inside the cafeteria when every student in there tried to get out as fast as possible, showcasing the exact antithesis of 'an orderly fashion'.

Izuku could do little but watch as Jiro and Shoji were carried off in the tide of running students, shortly before the same fate befell Hagakure.

Kirishima grabbed a running student by the arm and asked, "Hey, man, sorry to interrupt, but what exactly is 'level three'?"

"It means that someone's infiltrated the building!" the student answered agitatedly. "Hasn't happened in my three years here! Now hurry up and get outta here!"

Kirishima tried to ask something else, but another student with brick-like skin ran up on them, forcing the redhead to dodge and disappear in the chaos. Izuku looked around frantically when Katsuki called out to him.

"Oi, Deku! Get over here!"

Izuku turned around to see Dark Shadow, who held Yaoyorozu and a pissed-off Katsuki in its claws while Tokoyami laboriously cut his way through the panicking students. Izuku was quick to follow him as the bird-headed teen started heading for the large floor-to-ceiling windows. As they reached them, though, Izuku noticed something weird.

"Is that… is that a press corps?" he asked in confusion. "If it's just the press, how comes everyone is pani-_cking_!" An older student had knocked him over in his rush, and Izuku was only able to avoid getting trampled by instinctively latching onto the floor's material.

"**Gotcha!"** Dark Shadow exclaimed and plucked him from the floor again. As the four got pressed against the pane by the increasingly distraught student mass, Katsuki grunted in annoyance. "Damn morons. It's just the fucking ink-slingers, we ain't in danger!"

"To the contrary, we are," Yaoyorozu corrected. "This panic poses a very real threat. Midoriya at least was lucky enough to have a Quirk that protected him, but the next student who trips may be less lucky."

Suddenly, Izuku had an idea. "Yaoyorozu, could you maybe make a megaphone for me?" As soon as the slightly confused girl had met his request, he had Dark Shadow pull him up to the one point everyone was focused at.

The emergency exit.

"**Students of U.A. High School!"** Izuku exclaimed through the megaphone. His whole body was now the bright signal red of his shoes, thereby drawing even more attention on himself (even if that part was unintentional).

So many people were looking at him… no! This was something every hero had to go through on a daily basis; if he didn't say something right now, the chaos would break out again.

"**Everything is all right! There is no danger and no attack; it's only the press corps! Let's stay calm and evacuate orderly to prevent people getting hurt!"**

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The staff room had been left unguarded, and the intruder was quick to find the teaching schedules. They didn't know what _those people_ needed them for, but in the end, it didn't matter.

They sighed, leaning against a wall and letting the mask slip for a moment. Deep breaths, in and out, to center themselves just a little bit. They weren't about cry or anything like that; that'd be their ruin, but… they needed a moment to get hold of their emotions. To let everything lose at least a tiny part of its impact, as futile of a try as it may be, having known that their dreams were receding further and further with every step they'd taken on their way to the staff room.

Maybe, if they'd made a different decision…

Whatever. It didn't matter, now. Not anymore.

They had to get started. The commotion their… employers had caused wouldn't last forever, and they _really_ didn't want to get caught in here.

They swiftly produced the burner phone they'd been given for the mission, took pictures of the schedules and sent them to "Sensei". As they carefully checked the corridors and put on the mask again they prayed that after this, they'd finally be free.

* * *

**A/N: I'm back! Apologies for the delay; you can probably guess the reason. 2020 has shaped up to be a pretty crazy year; I hope you all are doing okay right now. Stay safe and remember to wash your hands :-)  
**

**Next time in Matter Adaptation: The other positions in the student council are announced! Who do you think was appointed? Also, The Squad being friends and enjoying some peace, quiet and bonding time (just kidding, it's more like Katsuki is given too much power and others suffer as a result). **

**And, as usual, constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't! **

**Remember to go beyond…**

**PLUS ULTRA!**

**Ramses, over and out.**


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